From Library Journal: If a telephone reference caller asks what deconstructionism is--or for the difference between a spondee and a dactyl, or for a clarification of Nice-Nellyism or the Gunning Fog Index--this is the source to reach for. The range here is wonderfully broad: language history, dialects, grammar, style, rhetoric, and so forth. A typical Oxford "Companion," this is both authoritative and fun. Articles are thorough, concise, and signed; cross-referencing is excellent; the ancient and au courant receive equal treatment; and the scope is global. Some will quibble (yes, quibble has an entry, but it's a cross reference to pun ); e.g., sundry authors who "influenced the shape or study of language" have entries, so that Mary Wollstonecraft is listed but Ruskin is not (although "Pathetic Fallacy" is). And the occasional bibliographies are perfunctory afterthoughts. Nevertheless, this is a fine book for reference and browsing. Highly recommended. Robert E. Brown, Onondaga City. P.L., Syracuse, N.Y.