Dictionary of Contemporary Slang - Softcover

Tony Thorne

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0747545944 ISBN 13: 9780747545941

Publisher: Bloombury, 1999

Synopsis

From A to Z:

Aim archie at the armitage brownie hound cassava dingleberries el ropo four-by-two get Chinese have the painters in idiot dancing jam sandwich kangaroo it lip service meathooks necktie party Ozzie and Harriet pearl diver quiche out rough end of the pineapple surfboard tray-bits under velcrohead write one's name on the lawn x-rated yodel in the canyon zippersniffer.

There is a linguistic riot going on the English-speaking world over, in the form of energetic, informal speech, extraordinary for its wit, quirkiness, and biting satire. The Dictionary of Contemporary Slang, the most comprehensive guide to slang, gathers more than 5,000 colloquialisms, puns, similes, metaphors, and double entendres -- from sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll; to fads, fashion, and cults; to taboos, obscenities, and euphemisms -- that have enriched our language for the past forty years. Most entries have multiple definitions that are enlivened by examples of usage.

About this title

About the Author:

Tony Thorne is has written and broadcast widely on the subjects of language and culture and is the director of the English Language Centre at King's College–London.

From Library Journal:

Rife with ribaldry, with an amusing contrast between tart words and cool, analytical definitions, this book may mobilize the censors. A typical entry has variant spelling or wording, geographical range, meanings, and comments--often guesswork--on tone, nuance, associations, social context, history, derivation, and related words. Pronunciation is sometimes left unclear. A few slang styles, such as backslang and pig Latin, are noted. Published as the Bloomsbury Dictionary of Contemporary Slang in Britain , this work covers Britain, the United States, and Australia well, other English-speaking areas lightly. The author, a lexicographer, draws from the media and personal observation of such users of slang as hippies and Valley Girls. Recommended more as a fun reflection of speech in recent decades than as definitive scholarship.
- William A. Donovan, Chicago P.L.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloombury
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0747545944
• ISBN 13: 9780747545941
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 448