The professional conversationalist (pp. 28–29)
‘A conversationalist is also one who, I’m sure you’ll recall, “excels in conversation.” ’ ‘That’s Webster’s Seventh. That’s not the O.E.D.’ […] ‘I’m an O.E.D. man, Doctor. If that’s what you are. […] And Webster’s Seventh isn’t even up-to-date. Webster’s Eighth amends to “one who converses with much enthusiasm.” ’
Context
JOI-in-disguise tries a definitional flourish and his ten-year-old identifies the source dictionary, the edition, and the revision history from memory. "I'm an O.E.D. man" is Hal's whole self-concept at ten, stated as a credential — dictionary partisanship standing in for a personality, in a conversation that is itself a failed attempt at one.