A 1940 edition dictionary

A 1940, ‘National Dictionary based on the principles established by Noah Webster’ was passed onto me this past weekend. It had been my grandfather’s, one of his first tools for maneuvering through the English language. Pages were marked in his hand and in my grandmother’s, remnants of beautiful penmanship now gone. Flipping through the pages browning with years, a note fell out, a practice draft of a letter my grandmother had written to me in high-school. Phrases were crossed out; sentences were reworded; and my Ukrainian name was written in its Americanized shorthand, Kris. My deeply accented grandmother never called me by that name.

Flipping through the dictionary’s pages is a beautiful connection to my grandparents and another time. For example, on page ix in the Guide to Correct Business English, I learned:

“O and Oh. ‘O’ is used only in direct address, as ‘O George, come here.’ ‘Oh’ is an expression of joy, surprise, fear, etc., as in ‘Oh, how glad I am you’re here!’

How lovely is that?