Dictionary of Fine Distinctions by Eli Burnstein

If you want to be taken seriously and like to choose your words with care, or you just find that a thingummy or a whatsit won’t suffice to convey your meaning then this may be the book for you.  Despite being described on the title page as both, this is not a dictionary nor an encyclopedia, in either arrangement or comprehensiveness, but could actually be described more accurately – or is it precisely - as a pot-pourri. 

This handy little volume is for word-lovers, for those who like to choose their words carefully and are curious to know what the subtle differences are when different words, concepts and terms define what seems to be the same thing. It contains a wonderful collection of juxtaposed terms and words from everyday life as well as from a wide variety of disciplines. Look inside and you may find answers to some of the questions you have always wanted to know but were afraid to ask. Are you sitting on a couch or a sofa? Are you drinking a cappuccino or a flat white? Was the crime a robbery or a burglary? And is either larceny? How about the house with a porch? Is it a verandah? Or a deck? Or a patio? In a scientific context, how are a volt, an amp and a watt different? Mathematically speaking, how do rational, real and natural numbers mean different things? The difference, geographically between the United Kingdom and Great Britain is explained as is the difference, historically, between a dictator, an autocrat, a despot and a tyrant. Concepts such as ethics and morality, musical terms like 2/2 and 4/4 time and literary labels like parody and satire are compared and explained. 

For me, the most useful thing I learnt was how to read a family tree. I am always tripped up when deciding whether someone is a second cousin or a first cousin once removed. Now I know! 

Quirky cartoon line drawings, and sometimes diagrams, illustrate the subject under scrutiny, and despite the wide-ranging subject matter under discussion, the explanations are clear, concise and conversational, mostly arranged one to a page. And so the flavour of this educational but indubitably entertaining little book is less serious and solemn than you might be led to believe by the title. 

Hair-splitting and pedantic it may sound, but riffle, flick, skim, or leaf through these pages and you never know what will tickle your fancy in this light-hearted look at language. 

Reviewer: Clare Lyon

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