Can anyone give me a bit more info about this? It seems the new edition has been printed with 500 words missing from the 12th Ed (I'm still on a bettered 11th). Was going to buy one but now swithering...
Attached review posted at Amazon.
As a keen Listener crossword solver, I buy a new copy of the Big Red Book every time it is released. The dictionary is still the best single-volume reference book available, and it's a must for crosswords and other word games, with a wide variety of obscure words that you won't find even in the (much larger) 2-volume Shorter Oxford. This edition restores the list of first names that were missing from the 12th edition, and removes the annoying supplement in the middle for "word lovers". However...
Due to a printing error, there are around 500 words missing from this edition that were in the 12th edition - they are the "enriching" words which were highlighted in that edition. They are still in the electronic versions of Chambers 13th edition available for computers and smartphones, but they aren't in this printed edition. Several people (myself included) have contacted Chambers to ask if this will be fixed - either by the publication of an errata slip or a reprinting, but no-one has yet had a reply.
Given the above, if you are still using the 12th edition, don't upgrade to this version yet - not until Chambers have had a chance to sort out the problem.