> Ah, Yoshie, you had me alternately salivating/crying. I gave away my OED
> when I left academia, and now I miss it soooooo.
>
> Anyone know where I can get another cheap one? I had the
> two-volume-read-it-with-a-magnifying-glass oed.
Abebooks.com has plenty of editions in its catalogues, on sale for prices ranging from $70 - $300. Just search on "Oxford Compact Dictionary".
But those copies are of the first edition of the Dictionary; the OED published its new edition in around 1990 or so, and that led to a new compact edition, which is one-volume-with-a-magnifying-glass -- and there are fewer of these around for sale, and they are more expensive ($300+).
Chris