The inclusion of "photoshop" in the Oxford dictionary as a verb is a sign of how used we have become to a world of manipulation and illusion.

WITH a chicken parma to his left and a dictionary to his right, Naween Fernando focuses intently on the board in front of him. Across the table, Andrew Fisher tallies the scores on a pad and shuffles his tiles in anticipation.

For years they've been saying the internet would replace the book, but so far it hasn't. It's certainly reduced the time many of us spend reading books, but that's not the same thing.

From whipmaker to pollie, the ADB serves up a healthy slice of human comedy, writes Jim Davidson. Australian Dictionary of Biography: Volume 17 1981-1990, A-K Edited by Diane Langmore Melbourne University Publishing, $100

THE colloquial language ozlingo is alive, well and precocious.