Sites to Help with Wordsmithing

September 1, 2011 6:39 AM

I like ClicheFinder and use it often to help me brainstorm clever titles for events and programs. What are some other sites that aggregate common word associations and turns of phrase? Or more general creative wordplay?

In my job I have to do a lot of naming and titling of events on the program calendar, written blurbs, etc. Often I'll start with ClicheFinder and enter a word associated with the topic, to find out what common phrases might have some resonance that I can tweak and play on to create a catchy name.

But I've never really found other sites that do something similar in collecting and presenting common word associations, familiar phrases, etc. Are there other word and phrase sites might help me in titling? Puns and homonyms? Lists of famous titles of books and movies sortable by words in the titles? I welcome all recommendations! Thanks!

posted by Miko to grab bag (8 answers total)

It was only recently that I discovered that idiom dictionaries existed.
posted by Jon_Evil at 6:43 AM on September 1, 2011 [3 favorites]

That's fabulous, Jon_Evil. Already glad I asked.
posted by Miko at 6:47 AM on September 1, 2011

I meant to link to ClicheFinder, duh.
posted by Miko at 6:48 AM on September 1, 2011

Snowclones?
posted by pimli at 7:17 AM on September 1, 2011

A few years ago, I picked up a 4-book set of Reader's Encyclopedias purely on crazy random happenstance. I've since come to adore them, as they give quick and dirty info on everything from "the bird in literature" to the symbolism in some of the great classics, such as the Odyssey or Hamlet.

While mine were antiques and, I believe, mainly fiction based, other encyclopedias may be drastically different or have different focuses. For example, mine also referenced such terms as "penny dreadful" which, while it may have been used in literature, was mainly noted as being used by news boys. So it's not always what's -in- the literature, it can also be about the literature as well.

Anyway! I recommend encyclopedias, and deeply comprehensive books on history.
posted by DisreputableDog at 8:07 AM on September 1, 2011

clichesite.com
posted by GaelFC at 8:58 AM on September 1, 2011 [1 favorite]

Onelook.com.
posted by Lieber Frau at 5:53 PM on September 3, 2011

I also found MoreWords which lets you search for words which contain any letter sequence, anagrams of that sequence, and other fun stuff.
posted by Miko at 12:31 PM on September 15, 2011 [1 favorite]