In writing, or compiling, this book, I have again tried to include as many new selections as possible, if only to make it one of the most complete American works on the subject (15,000 entries and still counting). The fabulous Oxford English Dictionary, however, still far outdistances any contender in the field, covering some 600,000 words and phrases and taking a full 40 years to produce. No doubt those tenacious O.E.D. people will be doing the same thing again a century from now.
