                        ^Reference HELP screen^

The reference includes two features: A) the dictionary and B) the thesaurus.
You can choose either of the two by pressing A or B.

     A. ^Dictionary.^  The dictionary allows you to look up an idiom by
entering text, and works much like a conventional dictionary.  A text can be a
part or all of the idiom you are looking for.  For instance, suppose you want
to find the idiom HAVE A BALL.  You can enter HAVE or BALL as the text, and
IdioMagic will show you every idiom that includes the word you typed.  Of
course, it's more efficient to type BALL to find this particular idiom--unless
you want to review EVERY idiom in the program that contains the word HAVE.

     B. ^Thesaurus.^  The thesaurus allows you to find idioms that are related
to a particular concept.  You enter a "concept word" as the text.  ~A concept
word is a word related to the idiom's meaning, or to an idea or situation in
which the idiom might apply.~

     IdioMagic first scans the idioms in its memory to check the word you
entered against the exact wording of their definitions.  Thus, if you enter
WORK as the concept word, you will find all the idioms that contain the word
"work" in their definition, such as BURN THE CANDLE AT BOTH ENDS.  Because
IdioMagic's thesaurus searches for literal matches, it will sometimes show
you idioms that are unrelated to what you're looking for.

     But ~IdioMagic also matches the concept word to the general category or
context of an idiom's usage--even if that concept word does not appear in the
definition itself.~  Thus, when you enter SECRET, IdioMagic will display
conceptually related idioms like COVER UP, SHOW ONE'S TRUE COLORS, LET THE
CAT OUT OF THE BAG, SPILL THE BEANS and COVER ONE'S TRACKS.  Entering DATE or
DATING and IdioMagic will evoke GO DUTCH--because going dutch is usually
associated with the context of dating.  If IdioMagic does not recognize the
concept word that you entered, try other possibilities.
