MetaFilter posts tagged with reference and dictionary

Cuss all you want, but only around men, horses, and cows

Del Far — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 10:09:30 -0800

Old Western Slang and Lingo also Insults and the Code of the West

Wiki site for English idioms, words

Fozzie — Mon, 20 Jun 2005 07:41:52 -0800

What Does That Mean explains what it means to be having a blue or to be loaded for bear. This is a newish wiki site, so could use some more content. Me? I'm off to get something from the chilly bin and then I may add some regional idioms of my own...

The Skeptic's Dictionary

chrisgregory — Fri, 06 Feb 2004 06:01:49 -0800

The Skeptic's Dictionary is a wonderful resource for all sentient individuals: 'A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions (and how to think critically about them)'. It's where I send people when they start telling me nonsense. It is also a jolly good read: try the entry for natural, for example. And some entries, like the entry for IQ and race, verge on the profound. There is a print edition, but the extensive internal and external site linkage makes reading the collection online a particular joy. While The Skeptic's Dictionary has been referred to before on MeFi, the link made the site out to be a cornucopia of Urban legend-style oddities, like Snopes. Which I thought was a shame: not dissing Snopes, but the Skeptic's Dictionary delivers a firm grounding in critical thinking as well. This post is dedicated to all of my relatives who chipped in to buy shark cartilage tablets and several fifty-dollar pamphlets full of testimonials after my father had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and who probably still think the worse of me for not contributing to their folly.

filter (n.) - c.1400, from M.L. filtrum

Ufez Jones — Fri, 18 Jul 2003 08:03:27 -0800

The Online Etymology Dictionary. I'll be spending most of my day here.

XiBe — Sat, 10 Nov 2001 08:55:20 -0800

While trying to write some silly poetry, I found this good resource for finding all things "rhymes". Glad I found a counterpart to my French Dictionnaire de Rimes.
I love words sites.

sikander — Wed, 11 Jul 2001 20:54:28 -0800

WhatIs - Definitions for thousands of the most current IT-related words. Not everyone knows about this site. It is pretty helpful for a quick lookup for anything computer related.

mathowie — Sat, 05 Feb 2000 16:38:56 -0800

WTF does AFAIK mean? Should I RTFM before asking the BOFM? If he tells me "IIRC, IMHO, I'm not HTH" what would you do? Try the acronymfinder.