Stands4 is a leading provider of free online reference resources, financed via advertising and it's been online since 2001. The company specialises in niche databases. You will really only want to use each one for a very specific purpose, but when you need its services, it shouldn't let you down.
The search sites than you can visit include databases on Abbreviations, Conversions, Definitions, Lyrics, Phrases, Quotes, References, Rhymes, Symbols, Synonyms and Zip Codes. Each site has its own URL, so rather than try and list them all, I'll simply point you to their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/STANDS4). The reason that I like these search engines is that they are very simple to use and very fast and effective.
If you need to know what a red ribbon might symbolise, the Symbols search engine will tell you. Need to find words that rhyme with 'library'? The Rhymes engine will not only tell you, but it breaks the results down into 1-5 syllables and links across to the Definitions search engine.If you're in need of quotes, try the Quotes website - one that I liked from that site about libraries was from Groucho Marx: 'I find television very educational. The minute someone turns it on, I go to the library and read a good book'. (As an aside, if you find a great quote, use the Quozio site (http://quozio.com/) to make it really attractive, then you can pop it into Pinterest to share with everyone else and you'll find my example over at http://bit.ly/11hX8fa.
The collection of engines link together when appropriate, and you can move from one to another really quickly from the menu bar at the top.
Phil Bradley in CILIP Update, July 2013
