The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English

The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English presents all the slang terms from The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English in a single volume.

Containing over 60,000 entries, this concise new edition of the authoritative work details the slang and unconventional English of from around the English-speaking world since 1945, and through the first decade of the new millennium, with the same thorough, intense, and lively scholarship that characterized Partridge’s own work.

Unique, exciting and, at times, hilariously shocking, key features include:

• unprecedented coverage of World English, with equal prominence given to American and British English slang, and entries included from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India, South Africa, Ireland, and the Caribbean



• emphasis on post-World War II slang and unconventional English



• dating information for each headword



• in the tradition of Partridge, commentary on the term’s origins and meaning.

New to this second edition:

• a new preface noting slang trends of the last eight years



• over 1,000 new entries from the US, UK and Australia, reflecting important developments in language and culture



• new terms from the language of social networking from a range of digital communities including texting, blogs, Facebook, Twitter and online forums



• many entries now revised to include new dating and new glosses, ensuring maximum accuracy of content.

The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English is a spectacular resource infused with humour and learning – it’s rude, it’s delightful, and it’s a prize for anyone with a love of language.

Tom Dalzell – Senior Editor

Recognized as one of the leading expert on American slang, Tom Dalzell’s most recent publications include Damn the Man: Slang of the Oppressed (2011), Far Out Depends on Where You’re Standing (2012) and Vietnam War Slang: A Dictionary on Historical Principles (also published by Routledge, 2014).

Terry Victor – Editor

Not only a slang collector but also an actor, broadcaster, writer and director, Terry Victor is currently engaged in the compilation of A Dictionary of Rhyming Slangs and the development of Awkward Turtle Flips the Bird, a performed glossary of gestural slang.