On 04/12/06, charles.r.matthews(a)ntlworld.com
<charles.r.matthews(a)ntlworld.com> wrote:
"Oldak Quill" wrote
WikiFable sounds a little narrow in scope.
I'm not sure what approach
a larger project would take: creative writing in general?
Traditional dictionaries 'of phrase and fable' contain, as well as mythology,
proverbs, folkways, odd expressions. Random page opening: a page with
'enfant terrible', 'England's Darling' (turns out to be Hereward the
Wake),
'Queen's English', 'Englishman's home is his castle', inter alia.
(And 'inter
alia' is between 'IQ' and 'intercalary'.) The cover alludes to
'myth, folklore,
legend and literature'.
I'm not suggesting anything quite so diffuse, but there is this genre of
dictionary, and we already have the wiki dictionary, and quotation dictionary, in place.
One of the things I have had on my userpage for a couple of years is
my theory that Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, after being crossbred
with Usenet and Brewer's...
(For those looking blank in the back, [[Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase
and Fable]] is the marvellous and incomparable Victorian grandfather
of all such works - indeed, these days, most of them are an updated
version of one of the out-of-copyright editions. Broadly speaking, it
was a handbook of "things you might find allusions to in your reading"
- so historical and mythical events and places, odd turns of phrase,
nicknames, obscure dictionary definitions... It is a joy and a
treasure to own, and one of the most enduring literary creations of
its time. Buy one today - Wordsworth do a cheap paperback reprint for
about three quid.)
--
- Andrew Gray
andrew.gray(a)dunelm.org.uk