--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After Bailey came Samuel Johnson, His…" description: "\"“After Bailey came Samuel Johnson, His Cantankerousness. Son of a London bookseller, a university dropout, afflicted with depression and what modern do..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa8/kory-stamper-11455_books_after-bailey-came-samuel-johnson-his-can_1139707.jpg" --- # After Bailey came Samuel Johnson, His Cantankerousness… ![“After Bailey came Samuel Johnson, His Cantankerousness. Son of a London bookseller, a university dropout, afflicted with depression and what modern doctors think was likely Tourette’s—“a man of bizarre appearance, uncouth habits, and minimal qualifications”—Johnson was bewilderingly chosen by a…” quote by Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa8/kory-stamper-11455_books_after-bailey-came-samuel-johnson-his-can_1139707.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa8/kory-stamper-11455_books_after-bailey-came-samuel-johnson-his-can_1139707.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa8/kory-stamper-11455_books_after-bailey-came-samuel-johnson-his-can_1139707.jpg) > ““After Bailey came Samuel Johnson, His Cantankerousness. Son of a London bookseller, a university dropout, afflicted with depression and what modern doctors think was likely Tourette’s—“a man of bizarre appearance, uncouth habits, and minimal qualifications”—Johnson was bewilderingly chosen by a group of English booksellers and authors to write the authoritative dictionary of English. Because of the seriousness of the charge, and because Johnson was scholarly but not a proper scholar, he began work on his dictionary the way that all of us now do: he read. He focused on the great works of English literature—Shakespeare, Milton, Dryden, Locke, Pope—but also took in more mundane, less elevated works. Among the books that crossed his desk were research on fossils, medical texts, treatises on education, poetry, legal writing, sermons, periodicals, collections of personal letters, scientific explorations of color, books debunking common myths and superstitions of the day, abridged histories of the world, and other dictionaries.”” [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Johnson, despite personal challenges and unconventional background, was tasked with creating a comprehensive dictionary, using a broad range of sources from high literature to everyday texts. **In simple terms:** Johnson used many kinds of books to build the dictionary despite his quirks. Key Takeaway Broad research yields richer knowledge. Themes education inclusion scholarship diversity Mood analytical inquisitive Type historical educational When to use this quote - dictionary compilation - academic research - inclusive curricula Key Concepts lexicography interdisciplinary research overcoming bias Questions to Reflect On - What sources are we overlooking in our work? - How does diversity of material improve outcomes? A Different Perspective Reliance on a single perspective can limit depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [English Lit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-lit/) [English literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-literature/) ## Related quotes > [“There are many famous people who could read extremely fast. It was said that England’s Samuel Johnson could read almost as fast as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kump/there-are-many-famous-people-who-could-read-extremely-fast-it-was/) Peter Kump > [“Samuel Johnson: A book should either allow us to escape existence or teach us how to endure it .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/samuel-johnson-a-book-should-either-allow-us-to-escape-existence-or/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [I think Samuel Johnson had it right when he observed that hope is itself a species of happiness. So if we want to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-josephson/i-think-samuel-johnson-had-it-right-when-he-observed-that-hope-is/) [Michael Josephson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-josephson/) > [ \[Samuel\] Johnson's conversation was by much too strong for a person accustomed to obsequiousness and flattery; it was mustard in a young child's mouth! ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hester-lynch-piozzi/samuel-johnson-s-conversation-was-by-much-too-strong-for-a-person/) [Hester Lynch Piozzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hester-lynch-piozzi/) > [ “Mr. Langton one day asked him \[Samuel Johnson\] how he had acquired so accurate a knowledge of Latin, in which, I believe, he was… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/mr-langton-one-day-asked-him-samuel-johnson-how-he-had-acquired-so/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [Perhaps Samuel Johnson was a great man; he was certainly a drumbling one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-dahlberg/perhaps-samuel-johnson-was-a-great-man-he-was-certainly-a-drumbling/) [Edward Dahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-dahlberg/) > [ In comparing these two writers, he \[Samuel Johnson\] used this expression: "that there was as great a difference between them as between a man… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/in-comparing-these-two-writers-he-samuel-johnson-used-this-expression/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [That's what Samuel Johnson said: "Read over your compositions, and wherever you meet with a passage which you think particularly fine, strike it out."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-laird/that-s-what-samuel-johnson-said-read-over-your-compositions-and/) [Nick Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-laird/) > [“Samuel Johnson once said that remarrying (and he’s not talking about marrying the same person here, just remarrying) is the “triumph of hope over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/samuel-johnson-once-said-that-remarrying-and-he-s-not-talking-about/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome. - Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paras/nothing-will-ever-be-attempted-if-all-possible-objections-must-first/) Paras > [“There are few books that set out what a mature person can believe - someone fully grown up, I mean. 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A lot of times we'll catch things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/what-makes-autocorrect-really-interesting-for-a-lexicographer-is-we/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) > [I make the case in the book that Standard English, that language we all aspire to live and move and have our being within,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/i-make-the-case-in-the-book-that-standard-english-that-language-we/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) > [“bor·bo·ryg·mus \\ˌbȯr-bə-ˈrig-məs\\ n, pl bor·bo·ryg·mi \\-ˌmī\\ : intestinal rumbling caused by moving gas (MWC11)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/bor-bo-ryg-mus-bo-r-b-rig-m-s-n-pl-bor-bo-ryg-mi-m-intestinal/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) > [“Person, Place, Thing (Noun); Describes Action (Verb); Modifies Nouns (Adjective); Answers the W Questions (Adverb); Joins Words Together (Conjunction); Things We Say When We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/person-place-thing-noun-describes-action-verb-modifies-nouns/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) > [A lot of people thought oh, we caught the dictionary in racism, or all it takes is a whole bunch of people saying that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/a-lot-of-people-thought-oh-we-caught-the-dictionary-in-racism-or-all/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) > [Words have always been political, and that means that, in many people's minds, dictionaries are political. Because that's what dictionaries do: they do words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/words-have-always-been-political-and-that-means-that-in-many-people-s/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) > [“It’s not all “molly” and “asshat.” The etymologies of some words are, for the lexicographer and average joe alike, boring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kory-stamper/it-s-not-all-molly-and-asshat-the-etymologies-of-some-words-are-for/) [Kory Stamper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) [Explore all 60 Kory Stamper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kory-stamper/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“After Bailey came Samuel Johnson, His Cantankerousness. Son of a London bookseller, a university dropout, afflicted with depression and what modern doctors think was likely Tourette’s—“a man of bizarre appearance, uncouth habits, and minimal qualifications”—Johnson was bewilderingly chosen by a group of English booksellers and authors to write the authoritative dictionary of English. Because of the seriousness of the charge, and because Johnson was scholarly but not a proper scholar, he began work on his dictionary the way that all of us now do: he read. He focused on the great works of English literature—Shakespeare, Milton, Dryden, Locke, Pope—but also took in more mundane, less elevated works. 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