I have just finished reading the biography of Peter Mark Roget who created "Roget's Thesaurus". The book is "The Man Who Made Lists: Love, Death, Madness and the Creation of Roget's Thesaurus" by Joshua Kendall (Putnam: 2008). This thoroughly enjoyable book contains the argument that the use of a Thesaurus has "dumbed down" the English language by such writers as Simon Winchester who I normally love to read. The book itself shows admirably how much we as speakers and writers needed "Roget's Thesaurus".
Before Roget came upon the scene, there was an inferior book that people used and it was hated for its deficiencies as much as it was admired for simply being there. I am one of those people who have trouble coming up with words to say or describe something I mean and end up saying the same word over and over again: "that was nice, oh yes, that was really nice for you to do that. Yes, I like that and it was nice for you to say so."
I don't think in words. I read quite a bit, but I need a Thesaurus to help me with better words to say what I really mean, to come up with a word that is closer to what I really want to say or write. Maybe there are wordsmiths that have a natural talent to come up with the exact word they mean, but I am not one of them and neither was Roget. He needed the list and that is why he came up with it in the first place. He spoke in other languages such as Latin and French and he had lists for those languages too.
There are those insufferable writers who write the perfect draft the first time their fingers touch the keys or put the words on paper. Trust me, I did not want to write "writers". I did not need a Thesaurus to come up with another word for them. No. These are people who think in words, pristine and clear words and I am glad for them. However, the majority of the writers I know are like me. The majority of students I taught in school were like me as well. We needed Peter Mark Roget and am awful glad he wrote that book so many years ago and glad that Penguin has kept it up. He came up with other inventions and one of the things he came up with was the very beginning of the movie industry. He was not only a doctor but a very clever fellow even if his family were the mad hatters of the Victorian Times.
All this comes down to is this, use what you need and ignore those who are insufferable or *ricks.
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