從 aisle 這個單字，看幾本英英字典的解釋，有否把單字越解釋越難？

記得從高中的階段開始，英文老師就會開始建議我們使用 "英英字典" 取代 "英漢字典" ，英文才能更進步，並逐漸練習用英文去思考。可是，當時包括我在內的許多同學雖然真的聽話了去買 "英英字典" 來用，卻是越用越不愛用。

因為，我們查一個簡單的單字，有可能在英文解釋裡面，卻用了更難更深的單字去解釋它！

於是，我們又要去查那個更難更深，我們原本不認識的單字。然後，它的解釋又衍生出了三個更難更深的單字……天哪！這樣要查到什麼時候啊！？

有時，為了查一個單字，變成要查15個單字！

不過後來還好，慢慢地，各家字典的出版社也逐漸注意到這個問題，因此逐年來都有不斷改版，以及不斷地出版適合不同程度的版本出來。

這裡就簡單藉由 "aisle" 這個單字，看看在不同的字典中的解釋文中，用到了些什麼單字去解釋它，蠻有趣的：

→a way between lines of seats (in a church, plane, etc.)

★Oxford Elementary Learner's English Dictionary ◆只用了「way」這個最基礎的簡單單字去解釋

→a long passage between rows of seats (in a church, plane, theatre etc, or between rows of shelves in a shop)

★Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English ◆用了「passage」這個較深的單字去解釋

→passage between rows of seats (in a church, theatre, railway carriage, etc)

★Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English ◆也用了「passage」這個較深的單字去解釋

→a long narrow gap that people can walk along between rows of seats (in a public building such as a church or between rows of shelves in a supermarket)

★Collins Cobuild Advanced Learner's English Dictionary ◆用了「gap」這個較簡單的單字去解釋

→a long narrow space between rows of seats (in an aircraft, cinema or church)

★Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary ◆用了「space」這個較簡單的單字去解釋

→a passageway between rows of seats;a passageway for inside traffic (as in a department store, warehouse, or supermarket)

★The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language ◆用了最難的「passageway」這個較長較難的單字去解釋