Reverse Dictionary?

Under the heading of “You learn something new every day” comes the term Reverse Dictionary.

My daughter Jo, who has just started working as a librarian at Bond University, sent me a fascinating article on advanced google searches. Amongst all the tips was reference to something called reverse dictionaries.

So what is a reverse dictionary? Say you’re looking for the name of someone who makes barrels, but can’t remember the term. Well, find a reverse dictionary like www.onelook.com and type in your description. Hit enter and back comes a list of possible terms. Sure enough, there is cooper! Yes, it’s amongst a whole lot of other terms that don’t make much sense, but you’ll also see vintner, gunsmith and bootlegger that sort of do fit.

The Internet truly is amazing!