Would-be writers have long relied on thesauruses to provide a helpful leg-up when le mot juste hovers just beyond the tip of the tongue. Heavy thesaurus use, on the other hand, tends to be regarded as a crutch, and writers often treat their indulgence as a dirty little secret. With the current vogue toward descriptive minimalism, what’s more, overly florid prose is generally seen as a temptation to be resisted. Read more…