Vols. for 1871-76, 1913-14 include an extra number, The Christmas bookseller, separately paged and not included in the consecutive numbering of the regular series.

The dictionary is based on a new concept which takes into account recent developments and findings in lexicographical research. It combines the best features of monolingual and bilingual dictionaries as well as learner dictionaries. Every sense of a word is first fully explained and then provided with translation equivalents. The grammatical behaviour of the words, their construction patterns are described in a language that is clear and easy to understand. Every sense of a word, every construction pattern is illustrated with an example. These example sentences are given in English and German so that the word looked up is shown in actual use and the translation guarantees its understanding and promotes retention. Special care is taken to explain differences between English and German in language use and culture. A new reader-friendly layout ensures that users will easily and speedily find the answer to what they want to know.