Wiktionary:Wiktionary idiom dictionary considerations

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See also: Idioms

Wikipedia is presently serving as an w:idiom dictionary in addition to other functions. Apparently many believe that wiktionary can take over this function.

I doubt it. Even if the wiktionary was entirely successful at explaining the most basic (4000 or so) English idioms in comprehensible language, i.e. with a w:defining vocabulary, it is unclear how many sophisticated literary or cultural articles could be moved to the wiktionary, or how many idioms and stock phrases and fictional characters can be properly explained within the limits of the wiktionary.

One technical problem is that the wiki software still does not permit simultaneous articles on words that exist in both uppercase (or proper Name) and lowercase (noun) form, and arbitrarily capitalizes the first word of any article name. Until this is fixed, the wiktionary probably cannot fulfil all its mandated functions.

Accordingly, the wikipedia will continue to serve as a dictionary at least for sophisticated concepts or where distinction of proper names from generic nouns is absolutely required in titles - which is common:

Quite a mess resulted when, in the wikipedia, the issue of 'green' versus 'Green' parties was raised - the distinction being extremely important, as are all proper names vs.generic nouns. We don't want those messes in wiktionary.