Vocabulary for
The Magic Peach
with Sniffy the Hamster, resident wordsmith

ogres(12)    

Sniffy Says: "Run for your life! They're coming! Oh me, oh my, what am I ever going to do? The Ogres are coming! They're big, they're mean, they're giants! They'll eat me, they'll eat you! Run, run, run! Pack my bags, pack my food—skitter, scatter, scamper away as fast I can—go, go, go, go, go!"
Mr. Draeger Says: "Sniffy, what's wrong?"
Sniffy Says: "The giant monsters are coming! The ogres!"
Mr. Draeger Says: "What are you worried about? They're only in fairy tales and they only eat humans."
Sniffy Says: "Oh. You're sure they only eat humans?" Mr. Draeger nods his head. "Okay, good night."
Mr. Draeger Says: "Run for your life! They're coming! Oh me, oh my, what am I ever going to do? The Ogres are coming . . . "

dumplings(12, 15)    

Sniffy Says: "Dumplings, shumplings, crumplings—yum, yum, yum. I love dumplings. First, I get a big pot of stew boiling. Then I take some flour, mix it with water, add some salt, make it into round balls and let them cook in the stew. Crumbly, soft and delicious. Well, that's one kind of dumpling. Scrumptious. The other kind is even better. I take the flour, mix it up, roll it out and wrap it around apples and peaches and grapes. Then I throw it in my oven—Mr. Draeger doesn't know I have an oven so don't tell him—when it comes out I eat and eat and eat until my little tummy looks like a watermelon. Then I sleep and sleep and sleep. Ahhhh, dumplings!"

pheasant(18)    

Sniffy Says: "Pheasant? That's easy! It's a bird. What's that you say? Ohhhh, you want to know what it looks like because there are thousands and thousands of different birds? Well, as birds go, pheasants are big. Not as big as an ostrich, but much bigger than a sparrow. Many are about the size of a chicken. Pheasants often have long tail feathers and males are very colorful. Their colors are spectacular! Just take a look. Pheasants come from Asia. The picture to your left is a Lady Amherst's Pheasant. Scientists use its Latin name which is Chrysolophus amherstiae. Say that as fast as you can! Chrysolophus amherstiae Chrysolophus amherstiae Chrysolophus amherstiae Chrysolophus amherstiae Chrysolophus amherstiae. Whew! That's all for me. Time to take a nap and practice my Latin."

Online Reference Dictionary, Encyclopedia & more Word: by: WordStarts withEnds withMentions Match Up Match each word in the left column with its synonym on the right. When finished, click Answer to see the results. Good luck!   Website content provided by The Free Dictionary

Word of the Day Website content provided by The Free Dictionary

On-Line Dictionaries

The Free Dictionary: This is now my favorite on-line dictionary (the box above links to this dictionary). Not only does it provide you with audios to pronounce the word, but it also gives you examples of the word used in context. They also have a "References in classic literature" section which provides entire sentences from classic literature in which the word is used. Also includes a thesaurus, encyclopedia and more.

Answers.com: This is not just a dictionary, but it has a dictionary and the reason I list it is because the dictionary has an audio pronunciation feature which is very helpful when one comes across words that are difficult to pronounce or have never been seen before. Access is free.

The Dictionary of Difficult Words: Good resource for those words that your dictionary doesn't have or that other on-line dictionaries do not have.

A Latin Dictionary: This is great resource for Latin. There is even a downloadable version for your computer that will do both Latin/English and English/Latin.

Dictionary.com Free Access. You can purchase additional features.

Merriam-Webster Free Access.

WordSmyth A children's dictionary is also available. This dictionary requires registration. Free Access.

Oxford English Dictionary The best English dictionary in the world! This dictionary requires paid subscription. $29.95 per month or $295.00 per year.