Mr. Philip B. Gove
Editor
Merriam-Webster Inc.
345 Washington Ave.
Springfield, MA
Dear Mr. Gove,
As a concerned citizen and an experienced teacher of English, I would like to suggest some corrections to the Webster's New Dictionary of Synonymsthat you edited. Having watched many students struggle with learning the correct usage of English, especially nouns and verbs, I feel that it would be very beneficial to everyone if all words were assigned a single meaning or set of very specific circumstances under which they should be used. 
I believe that if you, being such a distinguished and well known editor of such fine works as Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged,could lead the way for a wonderful, simplifying change in the English language.
The entry in Dictionary of Synonymsthat sparked my concern was earth. In this entry, many words that are only vaguely synonymous to earth were declared to be completely equal to it. For example, the words dirt, ground, land, and soilwere said to be equivalent in meaning to earth!(275) Now plainly, this is not the case. One has only to read the sentence, "I have dirty shoes" to know that it implies something completely different from, "I have earth on my shoes." This difference is highlighted in statements such as, "He is a dirty old man." Taken literally, and I know you understand the importance of literal translations of words, this simply means that the male person in question is of advanced years and encrusted with soil. But to the common and vulgar student, the phrase implies that the aged person is licentious or rude.
So you see, these connotations and meanings are very important in affecting the meanings of phrases. But not only do these hidden meanings influence thinking, they can determine it! Now, I'm sure you are much more knowledgeable about these things, but I have done extensive reading on linguistic theories and according to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, that is exactly what language does (Crystal 15). The words we use determine the way we think. Every English speaker has certain images and feelings attached to a word, and these auras force our minds to a certain thought. Just think, Mr. Editor, you could help save our children from the horrible impure thoughts that are forced on their minds whenever they hear the word dirty!
It is frightfully distressing to me that language could be so ambiguous. After all, as the Bible says in Matthew 5:37, "Say yes when you mean yes, and no when you mean no. Anything else is of the Devil." And given the strong control that word connotations have on our minds, these definitions must be strictly categorized and enforced. This would help students learn English and prevent moral corruption. I propose that, for starters, five words: dirt, earth, ground, land,and soil,and their cognates and derivatives would be given specific meanings and in one case, eliminated entirely.
There is a wonderful anthology of environmental literature that perfectly illustrates the approved use of earth. (I certainly hope you realize, Mr. Editor, that unless your Dictionaries are printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper, you're destroying whole forests of beautiful trees!) It's entitled, Sisters of the Earth. Now you see here why only earth,and not any of its synonyms, would function properly in this phrase. "Sisters of the Ground" is singularly uninspiring. "Sisters of the Land" implies a specific country. "Sisters of the Soil" sounds like farmers. And "Sisters of the Dirt!" I don't have to tell you what that implies. "Sisters of the Earth" tells the reader that the women indicated are deeply attached to their planet as a whole, both spiritually and physically. 
Now I know it may seem odd that a Fundamentalist Christian like myself would be so interested in Environmentalist literature, but I believe that God made the world and left it up to us to take care of it. So please consider recycled paper for your next edition.
I propose that the word earth only be used in this global sense of"our planet earth"and "the good Mother Earth." Its spiritual halo makes this an obvious association. Earth would be poetic and beautiful and strictly limited to those positive meanings. It could no longer be used to mean that grainy black substance that ...... Well, you know what I am referring to. If this definition is strictly enforced, it would also reduce the number of false advertisements that are used by many companies as a means of selling their product.
I did some research and found a brochure entitled Earth-Friendly Shopping that advocates, "keep the earth from going down the drain," and "voting for the earth." These are all slogans used to promote organic foods and non-polluting cleaning products. They are attractive and hard to argue with. No one wants to vote against the earth! So people buy the products on the simple influence of a single word. But if earthwas defined only in the global sense, these slogans would be ridiculous. 
No one would be impressed by "dirt-friendly shopping" and "voting for dirt." "Keep the earth from going down the drain" is almost paradoxical as, "Keep the dirt from going down the drain." Because after all, isn't that exactly what a washer is meant to do? So help all of America avoid false advertising, Mr. Editor, and define earthas meaning only one thing!
Now that you have a general understanding of what I am proposing, I'll continue with my recommendations. The use of soil in common conversation generally has vulgar associations. Such euphemisms as, "she soiled herself" could either mean that the girl had damaged her reputation, lost her virginity, or had a toilet training accident. These nasty meaning influence thoughts, just as I said before. Mr. Sapir-Whorf was absolutely right. But these awful meanings could be completely disposed of if soil were defined to mean "the loose surface of the earth that plants grow in" in a solely scientific manner, just as you say in your Dictionary of Synonyms. 
In conversations about gardening or farming this is already the case, as shown in an article on composting entitled, "Compost: Joys of Soil Building." The article uses soilin the sense of "a specially formulated mix of compost elements." "An airy soil mix," or "rich black soil" are other common phrases.
