Dictionary of American Slang
We all know language changes rapidly, but to follow along requires an historical view. Chapman's Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition, provides just what is needed to trace the language of today back to its American roots.\ And make no mistake––this is a dictionary that is purely American, the place where you can trace the development of the American language, in it's highly informal format known as "slang."\ Some would ask: "isn't the language changing so fast that this book is out...
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We all know language changes rapidly, but to follow along requires an historical view. Chapman's Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition, provides just what is needed to trace the language of today back to its American roots.And make no mistake––this is a dictionary that is purely American, the place where you can trace the development of the American language, in it's highly informal format known as "slang."Some would ask: "isn't the language changing so fast that this book is out of date the day on which it is published?" Although it is true that changes to the language, particularly slang, happen faster and faster in the electronic age, still there is a place for an authoritative, recognized work that keeps track of and compiles the language into an historical document, as this dictionary does.It is true that language changes very quickly; it is just as true that today's slang may be forgotten tomorrow. In recording the changing language, and sorting out what's here to stay from what's coming and quickly going, the Dictionary of American Slang serves a useful and important purpose. Booknews Updated and enlarged from the 1967/1975 second edition of Harold Wentworth and Stuart Berg Flexner's , and reprints Flexner's classic sociolinguistic account of slang from the original 1960 edition. Includes words and phrases from all US history and current subcultures such as rock and roll, corporations, African Americans, and gays and lesbians. Cites origins, examples of use, a warning about use in polite society. Pronunciation is indicated for words the editors think are not obvious to educated native English speakers. Well cross- referenced. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.
Dictionary of American Slang, Third Edition\ Completely Revised and Updated \ Chapter One\ A\ A n 1 Amphetamine 2 LSD; ACID (Narcotics)\ AA (pronounced as separate letters) modifier : an AA barrage n An antiaircraft weapon, or antiaircraft fire; ACK-ACK, FLAK (WWI)\ abandominiums n Abandoned apartments or houses where addicts use drugs : Abandominiums blighted the former middle-class neighborhood\ abbreviated piece of nothing n A worthless or insignificant person or thing : Her unemployed neighbor is an abbreviated piece of nothing\ abc gum n Gum that has already been chewed : There's abc gum under the desk\ abdabs (or habdabs or screaming abdabs or screaming habdabs) n Anxiety or nervous tension : Starting any new project gives her the abdabs (1945+)\ Abe's cabe (or abe) n phr A five-dollar bill [Jive talk 1930s+ & rock and roll 1950s+; fr Lincoln's portrait on the bill, perhaps a shortening and repronouncing of ''cabbage'']\ A-bomb n 1 An atomic bomb 2 A car especially modified for quick acceleration and speed; hot rod (Hot rodders) 3 A combination of drugs, typically marijuana or hashish plus opium (Narcotics)\ abortion n Something of very poor quality; a messy failure; Disaster : That show is a real abortion\ about that See sorry about that\ about townSee man-about-town\ above one's head See in over one's head\ abso-bloody-lutely modifier Absolutely : He absobloody-lutely wanted to see her again\ absotively (posilutely) modifier Absolutely : I absotively posilutely want to watch the basketball games\ academy See laughing academy\ Acapulco gold n phr Marijuana of high quality grown near Acapulco, Mexico, and having leaves with a golden hue (Narcotics)\ accident n A person born from an unplanned pregnancy; an unplanned pregnancy : At 50, this third one was an accident (1900+)\ accidentally on purpose adv phr As if by accident, but really by intention : She missed the meeting accidentally on purpose\ accommodation collar n phr An arrest made to fulfill a quota, usu in response to pressure for strong police action against crime (Police)\ Dictionary of American Slang, Third Edition\ Completely Revised and Updated. Copyright © by Robert L. Chapman. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.
\ BooknewsUpdated and enlarged from the 1967/1975 second edition of Harold Wentworth and Stuart Berg Flexner's , and reprints Flexner's classic sociolinguistic account of slang from the original 1960 edition. Includes words and phrases from all US history and current subcultures such as rock and roll, corporations, African Americans, and gays and lesbians. Cites origins, examples of use, a warning about use in polite society. Pronunciation is indicated for words the editors think are not obvious to educated native English speakers. Well cross- referenced. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.\ \
