This article is rated Start-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects:

Books: Reference works This article is within the scope of WikiProject Books. To participate in the project, please visit its page, where you can join the project and discuss matters related to book articles. To use this banner, please refer to the documentation. To improve this article, please refer to the relevant guideline for the type of work.BooksWikipedia:WikiProject BooksTemplate:WikiProject BooksBook This article is supported by the Reference works task force. This article has been marked as needing an infobox. English Language This article is within the scope of WikiProject English Language, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of articles related to the English language on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.English LanguageWikipedia:WikiProject English LanguageTemplate:WikiProject English LanguageEnglish Language ??? This article has not yet received a rating on the importance scale.

I thought I might remove obumbrate from the list of piquancies - it seems rather ordinary. John Wheater 09:10, 2 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The on-line dictionary doesn't have much of a sense of humour; I copied the Chambers definition of "éclair" straight from that into the body text: "a long cake of choux pastry with a cream filling and chocolate or coffee icing". And it, apparently, is drawn from the 21st Century Dictionary. So what of the claim that the Johnson-esque definitions were re-instated? Or are they still in the Chambers Dictionary, of which the C21 is a sort of straight version? Wooster (talk) 14:04, 10 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

See below on the confusion between The Chambers Dictionary (TCD), which has the jokey definitions, temporarily removed then reinstated, and the Twentieth/21st Century Dictionary, which never did. Flapdragon (talk) 22:15, 20 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The first edition was 1786. MDCCLXXXVI. In four volumes. [unsigned comment by 194.73.99.6, 16:43, 17 February 2007]

Er, no. Neither of the Chambers brothers was even born until the following century. Flapdragon (talk) 22:10, 20 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

yoof n (esp of magazines, TV or radio programmes, etc) relating to, specifically aimed at, pandering to, or dealing with topics (thought to be) of interest to modern youth

Can someone check this is a noun definition in the paper copy? It looks like the definition of an adjective to me. The Wednesday Island 12:56, 24 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Quite right - the noun format is just "young person"; the extract is listed as an adj. Changing it. Carre 07:19, 9 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The number of definitions given as examples looks a bit excessive to me. -86.142.109.209 23:15, 28 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Why has Chambers changed from the -is- spellings to -iz- spellings? I have an old 20th century Chambers from 1983 which uses the -is- spellings, but the new versions (especially the online version) uses the -iz- spellings. Why have they changed? --203.220.170.184 (talk) 14:17, 7 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The article says:

William Chambers and Robert Chambers, the original writers of The Chambers Dictionary, lived in a small town in the Scottish Borders called Peebles.

And:

Originally published in 1901 as Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary...

Both brothers were dead by 1901. Were they really the original writers? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Twirlip (talk • contribs) 09:57, 30 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think they wrote dictionaries, just published them. The first one was edited by one Arnold J Cooley and published in 1861. The Twentieth Century Dictionary is a different, later publication. Flapdragon (talk) 22:48, 20 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Originally published in 1901 as Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary, the dictionary is widely used by British crossword solvers and setters, and by Scrabble players.

Where does this come from? The Chambers Dictionary is a different item from their Twentieth Century Dictionary, now rebranded the 21st Century Dictionary, as a quick look at the website proves. See Wooster's comment above. Flapdragon (talk) 21:36, 20 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]