Poetaster!

Well, the other day, I was looking at the Webster’s Encyclopedia of Dictionaries. In the word dictionary I was looking up the word rhyme. If you remember my previous post about rhymers, you’ll remember I was trying to distinguish the difference between some one who can write good rhymes, and a poet. Under Rhyme there is the word “Rhymster.” The definition is: rhymester n. one who makes rhymes; a minor poet; a poetaster. So ah ha! There is such a thing; I just had the wrong word. Ignorance is no excuse, but now I know. Now, what is a poetaster? Using the same dictionary: poetaster (po` it as ter) n. a would be poet; a petty rhymster. I sure love the dictionary. In fact, this Encyclopedia of Dictionaries consist of: a dictionary, crossword puzzle dictionary, book of familiar quotes, scientific terms, synonyms, antonyms and homonyms, a music dictionary, a rhyming dictionary, a legal dictionary, a medical dictionary, an outline of US History, and a Atlas and Gazetteer. Plus the beginning of the book has the US flags, and a 15 color page introduction to space and space travel. Now, don’t get me wrong, this thing is old. The first copyright is 1953, and the last copyright is 1979. But wait till I tell you what I paid for it; $0.10. It was at a library sale. Just the rhyming dictionary alone is worth a couple of dollars! If you hit those library sales at the right time, you can really find some treasures!