Rosalind Fergusson was born in Liverpool in 1953 and obtained her degree in French from Exeter University. From here she took a teaching certificate and became an assistant teacher at a school in West Sussex. From 1978 to 1984 she worked for Market House Books where she trained as an assistant editor and rose to the position of Senior Editor. During this time she worked on a range of reference books. Since leaving Market House Books she has worked as a freelance editor. Her other publications include The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary (1985), Choose your Baby's Name (1987), The Hamlyn Dictionary of Quotations (1989), The Penguin Dictionary of English Synonyms and Antonyms (1992), Chambers Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases (1995) and The New Penguin Dictionary of Abbreviations (2000). Rosalind Fergusson has also edited and co-edited a number of dictionaries and reference books, and has contributed to The Bloomsbury Good Word Guide (1988) and Brewer's Dictionary of 20th-Century Phrase and Fable (1991), among others. Rosalind Fergusson is married and lives in Kent. Her leisure interests include walking, sailing and music.