I was deep in the weeds of Chapter 4 of my novel last Tuesday. The scene is set on a farm, and I realized I had used the word “barn” about fifty times in three pages.
I needed variety. I needed “pastoral.” I needed “agrarian.” I specifically wanted synonyms for “bucolic.”
Normally, this is the moment where I die. I hit CTRL + N to open a browser window. I type “bucolic synonym.” But while I’m there, I see a notification badge on Gmail. Or I spot a “Trending” headline about the Knicks.
Suddenly, it’s twenty minutes later and I have watched three videos of Billy Corgan talking about pro wrestling, and I have completely forgotten that I was writing about a farm.
It’s the Internet Tax. Every time you go online for something simple, you pay a toll in attention.
The $6.99 Solution
I found the Franklin MWD-1490 at a Goodwill on Long Island for seven bucks. It was sitting in a bin of tangled, yucky cables, looking like a relic from a high school math class.
I bought it as a kitschy desk toy, but that Tuesday, it saved my writing session.
I typed B-U-C-O-L-I-C. I hit THES (Thesaurus). Instantly, the grey LCD screen served up rural, rustic, countrified, and pastoral.
I picked “countrified,” typed it into my draft, and kept writing. I never left the document. I never saw an ad. The words. Kept. Flowing.
The Specs
Release Date: 2004
Original MSRP: $59.99
My Cost: $6.99 at Goodwill
Battery Life: Several months with 2x CR2032 coin batteries
Distraction Level: 15%: Contains word games and Crossword Solver…you can procrastinate here.
It’s Not Just a Dictionary (For Better or Worse)
I initially thought this would be a “Zero Distraction” tool, but that’s not quite true.
This little grey word machine is actually a powerhouse of procrastination if you let it be. It has a Games button that launches you into Hangman, Anagrams, and Word Train.
Is playing Hangman on a 2004 LCD screen better than doomscrolling Twitter? Yes. It engages the linguistic part of your brain. And if I’m being honest, I have definitely “rewarded” myself with a round of word games when I should have been moving my characters along. Whoops, there goes another chapter deadline.
It also functions as a surprisingly robust Crossword Solver. If you type in B??N, it will list every four-letter word starting with B and ending with N. Useful for puzzles? Yes. Useful for finding a rhyme for a poem? Absolutely.
The Writer’s Best Friend
Despite the temptation of the games, it has earned a permanent spot on my desk.
The screen is low-contrast and requires good lighting (no backlight here), but it is quiet. There are no “related articles.” There is just the data I asked for. It keeps my head on the page, not in the cloud. And there is no boot-up or load time. Power up. Type word. Get answer(s).
The Hunt: Buying a Franklin in 2026
You don’t need this specific model (MWD-1490), but Franklin made the best ones. Here is how to find a good one:
- Check the Battery Compartment: This is the #1 killer of these devices. They often sat in drawers for 15 years with batteries inside. If you see blue/green corrosion on the springs, walk away. It’s not worth the scrub.
- Look for the “MWD” Series: These are the Merriam-Webster Dictionary models. Avoid the generic “Spellers” or “Crossword Solvers”—they have much smaller vocabularies. You want the full dictionary/thesaurus combo.
- Screen Rot: Turn it on (or ask the seller for a photo of it on). Look for horizontal lines of dead pixels. If the text is cut off, pass.
Price Check: Do not pay more than $15-$20 on eBay. Thrift stores are better ($5-$8), but you have to get lucky.
Pros & Cons
- Pro: The dedicated “Thesaurus” button is faster than opening a new browser tab (and 100% safer for your attention span).
- Pro: The tactile QWERTY keyboard has a satisfying “click” that feels like serious business.
- Pro: Deep database—it doesn’t just give you one synonym; it gives you the nuance you need for fiction.
- Con: The screen has no backlight, so you need a lamp to use it during late-night writing sessions.
- Con: It is surprisingly easy to lose 20 minutes playing “Anagrams” when you should be writing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does it speak the words?
No, this model (MWD-1490) is text-only. Franklin made “Speaking Dictionaries” (usually much bulkier), but I prefer the silence of this one.
Can I add new words to it?
You can add words to a “User List” (like names of characters), but you cannot update the main dictionary definitions. It is frozen in time, which means “Amazon” is defined as a river, not a store.
What batteries does it take?
It takes two CR2032 “coin” batteries for the device, plus a tiny CR2016 for the memory backup. You can find these at any drugstore.