the compact edition, and it is BEAUTIFUL. 500,000 words and their first documented uses! Chronological changes that the words have undergone! A heavy round magnifying glass that you have to use to even see the words! It is generally 20 volumes but the compact version has 9 pages micrographically reproduced onto each page. Katherine told me that it is one of the sexiest things she has ever seen. I've never really been in love before until this last Saturday when I finally held it in my arms. I know that we will never be apart again.
One of the best things about the whole situation was that in getting the dictionary, I realized that I was a very big nerd, and while I always knew that I was from a family full of nerds, I didn't realize the full extent of that until now. Here is the evidence:
1. When I first asked for the dictionary there was a lot of excitement. My father immediately started looking up information and came across a book about the history of the OED. My mother purchased that as a gift for both me and my father. When my sister found out about it she immediately told me that Rory on the Gilmore Girls once got the dictionary as a gift. One of my friends mentioned to her parents that she might want the OED as a gift and her parents laughed at her.
2. My father held out for about a week until he had to go out and buy his own. He got the shorter edition, however, and while he brags that it came with a CD that gives him easy electronic access, I know that mine is about a million times cooler.
3. After picking up the dictionary at my parents home in West Jordan I planned to go used book shopping in Salt Lake with a friend. As I was about to leave my mother warned "You'd better keep it in the trunk while you are parked. You wouldn't want somebody to break in and steal it." While my mother has been terrified by the possibility of gang violence in Salt Lake, she never once told me that they were out stealing dictionaries. What is the world coming to? Unfortunately, I don't think that the criminal masses comprehend the worth of the dictionary. Too bad for them.
While my family is a bunch of nerds I am glad that I had them. More than once I have had friends tell me that they are jealous of my upbringing. So while the fact remains that there is a whole lot to make fun of, it would be a whole lot worse to live in a family that wouldn't give you an Oxford English Dictionary for Christmas.
