Against the use of dictionaries and other extraneous materials

[jd]

I'm not sure I entirely understand why she wouldn't allow them a
dictionary...  is it just because of the fact that if they need a
dictionary it goes beyond the case the lawyer made?

And I would agree that a dictionary isn't bad, and that a thesaurus is
pretty bad.  I think they can sometimes come in helpful if you have a
general idea of the word you want, know a synonym, but can't think of
that particular word to save your life (i.e. a brain fart).  But
generally they are useless as far as I am concerned...  you miss the
nuances of the language.