This seems like a good time to endorse the "real" Roget's Thesaurus (currently titled, 'Roget's International Thesaurus' with "The Original Roget's" on the dust

This seems like a good time to endorse the "real" Roget's Thesaurus (currently titled, 'Roget's International Thesaurus' with "The Original Roget's" on the dust cover). I'd wager many (?most) folks have only used a dictionary-style thesaurus or some online version. But, kind of like RPN calculators <heh>, once you master a real thesaurus it's a game-changer. For those not familiar: all the 'target' words are fully indexed against the main section where Platonic ideals, as it were, comprise fundamental language constructs. Think: Dewey Decimal System, but for words. Usage: locate the word you want to match in the index (which is about one-quarter of the page count!); find the section ID for the matching concept(s); flip forward into the body section to the numbered § where is listed all the words in that category. There you find not just a handful of synonyms as you get from a dictionary-style but every word that is nuanced, colloquial, arcane, &. — they're all there. It's frequently in the dozens and sometimes is more than a full-page column. There is no comparison in the quality of choices between the two formats. NB: my college roommate turned me onto this as a freshman and it's been one of my greatest research/writing tips ever since.