The Compact Oxford English Dictionary   Second Edition

Edited by J. A. Simpson and E. S. C. Weiner

Price: $ 783.95 CDN 
ISBN: 0-19-861258-3
Publication date: November 1991
OUP UK  2,402 pages, 260 mm x 355 mm
Series: British English Dictionaries

• From the reviews of the Second Edition of The Oxford English Dictionary: `The gigantic total picture of the English language...an epic achievement.' Anthony Burgess, Observer
• `The greatest dictionary in any language.' Geoffrey Wheatcroft, Daily Telegraph
• `A stupendous achievement.' William Golding, Evening Standard
• `The greatest reference book ever written.' Stephen Jay Gould, Nature
• `A national treasure.' New Statesman & Society
• `Has no real rival in any language.' Godfrey Smith, Sunday Times
• `One of the wonders of the world...the thing's a triumph.' Richard Boston, Guardian
• 'This is the best.' Philip Howard, The Times
• 'one of the wonders of the modern world ... it is fun to plunge into this colossal book and be ambushed by some unknown word or variation at the turn of every page or, in the case of the Compact edition, of every nine pages. This is a book all literate people will want to give themselves for Christmas, if they cannot persuade anyone else to give it to them. And the OUP should be given the Nobel prize, or something better.' Illustrated London News
• 'virtually impossible to fault ... this is simply the finest dictionary around' Ian Shuttleworth, City Limits

The Compact Edition of the OED reproduces micrographically, in a single volume, the complete text of the highly acclaimed Second Edition of The Oxford English Dictionary. In this edition, nine pages of the original fit onto just one. This volume comes in a slipcase with a magnifying glass and a new user's guide which explains the conventions of the OED.

The specification in this catalogue, including without limitation price, format, extent, number of illustrations, and month of publication, was as accurate as possible at the time the catalogue was compiled.