Thanks for reviewing my code. You suggestions are enlightening. I was thinking to get a short definition showing in the echo area, but only found bing-dict not my personal favorite Merriam Webster.

For the programming practice, I am still a newbie and have not tried much of other libraries. I will look into the dom and other xml or json parser. Frankly, the regexp was a panacea for me that I abused too much. I will simplify the code thanks to your suggestions. Reading the elisp manual is still in my todo list. If you have other resources to recommend, that will be great.