Last week, a 32-year-old man in the US was nearly electrocuted after falling asleep with his iPhone charging in bed. The key word here is "nearly" - a point of difference many journalists failed to make.
As any English teacher or medical student will tell you, electrocution is not the same thing as an electric shock. While the latter can cause serious injury, only the former results in instantaneous death.
iOS: You wouldn't think a dictionary app could actually be fun to use, but Terminology somehow manages to be just that. Now, the app has gone free alongside an update that cleans up the interface.
Mac: The dictionary in OS X is one of our favourite unsung gems, but it's certainly not perfect. If you're unhappy with the results you get, Macgasm points out that they're easy to customise.
Chrome: Whether you're inordinately loquacious or just really love gargantuan words, chances are you could use a dictionary on hand. Dictionary Bubble makes it easy by providing definitions with a double click.
Windows/Linux: This app is for all you wordsmiths and word buffs. Artha is a free thesaurus and dictionary with extensive features, including hotkey lookup, notifications, regular expression-based search and offline use.
Google has started offering dictionary definitions automatically when searches are performed for unusual words, eliminating the need to add define: to the front of those words. It doesn't trigger automatically for more common words (or Aussie slang), but it's a useful addition if you're confronted with a linguistic oddity.
