Dr. Samuel Johnson, creator of the Dictionary of Modern English, would often visit two sisters in 18th-century London – Mrs Digby and Mrs Brooke. On one of these visits, the two ladies were paying Johnson many compliments about his recently published dictionary, particularly commending him for not including any ‘ghastly’ rude words. Johnson responded, “What! my dears! then you have been looking for them?”. Embarrassed, the ladies immediately dropped the subject.
A Dictionary of the English Language | work by Johnson
A Dictionary of the English Language, the famous dictionary of Samuel Johnson, published in London in 1755; its principles dominated English lexicography for more than a century. This two-volume work surpassed earlier dictionaries not in bulk but in precision of definition. Its strength lay in two
