American Slang

Abridged ed. of The new dictionary of American slang c1986.

More bling for the buck! The #1 guide to American slang is now bigger, more up-to-date, and easier to use This new edition of McGraw-Hill’s Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions offers complete definitions of more than 12,000 slang and informal expressions from various sources, ranging from golden oldies such as . . . golden oldie, to recent coinages like shizzle (gangsta), jonx (Wall Street), and ping (the Internet). Each entry is followed by examples illustrating how an expression is used in everyday conversation and, where necessary, International Phonetic Alphabet pronunciations are given, as well as cautionary notes for crude, inflammatory, or taboo expressions. This edition also features a fascinating introduction on “What is Slang?,” a Thematic Index that cross-references expressions by standard terms--such as Angry, Drunk, Food, Good-bye, Mess-up, Money, and Stupidity--and a Hidden Word Index that lets you identify and locate even partially remembered expressions and phrases.

This compilation of American slang contains more than 5,000 common slang terms with easy-to-understand definitions and sample sentences. The book's unique classification of slang terms under key words makes it easy to search for and discover any term. By organising terms this way, slang terms that share a common key word can be classified together for easy reference. For example, under the key word 'Chip,' the following terms are alphabetically listed: bargaining chip, blue chip, cash in one's chips, chip in, chip off the old block, chip on one's shoulder, in the chips, let the chips fall where they may, and when the chips are down. Slang terms with more than one key word are also cross-referenced, and sample sentences lend meaning to the slang terms by showing their applications in writing and in conversation.

The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang offers the ultimate record of modern, post WW2 American Slang. The 25,000 entries are accompanied by citations that authenticate the words as well as offer examples of usage from popular literature, newspapers, magazines, movies, television shows, musical lyrics, and Internet user groups. Etymology, cultural context, country of origin and the date the word was first used are also provided. In terms of content, the cultural transformations since 1945 are astounding. Television, computers, drugs, music, unpopular wars, youth movements, changing racial sensitivities and attitudes towards sex and sexuality are all substantial factors that have shaped culture and language. This new edition includes over 500 new headwords collected with citations from the last five years, a period of immense change in the English language, as well as revised existing entries with new dating and citations. No term is excluded on the grounds that it might be considered offensive as a racial, ethnic, religious, sexual or any kind of slur. This dictionary contains many entries and citations that will, and should, offend. Rich, scholarly and informative, The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English is an indispensable resource for language researchers, lexicographers and translators.

A pioneering exploration of form, meaning, theme and function in African American slang, illustrated with thousands of contextual examples.

Here is a wonderful Baedeker to down-and-dirty politics--more than six hundred slang terms straight from the smoke-filled rooms of American political speech. Hatchet Jobs and Hardball: The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang illuminates a rich and colorful segment of our language. Readers will find informative entries on slang terms such as Beltway bandit and boondoggle, angry white male and leg treasurer, juice bill and Joe Citizen, banana superpower and the Big Fix. We find not only the meaning and history of familiar terms such as gerrymander, but also of lesser-known terms such as cracking (splitting a bloc of like-minded voters by redistricting) and fair-fight district (which refers to areas redistricted to favor no political party). Each entry includes the definition of the word, its historical background, and illuminating citations, some going back more than 200 years. (We learn, for instance, that a term as seemingly current as political football actually dates back to before the Civil War.) Selected entries will have extended encyclopedic notes. The book also features sidebar essays on topics such as political words in Blogistan; a short history of "big cheese"; all about chads and the 2000 election; the suffix "-gate" and all the related Watergate terms; and the naming of legislation. Political junkies, policy wonks, journalists, and word lovers will find this book addictive reading as well as a reliable guide to one of the more colorful corners of American English.

Originally published in 1960, The Dictionary of American Slang is widely regarded as the standard in its field. Expanded and completely updated, this third edition contains more than 19,000 terms of representing the variety and vigor of American slang, from the most widely acceptable to the taboo, and covering all periods of American history -- from the gypsies, soldiers, railroad workers and cowboys of the 19th century to more modern spawning grounds such as the rock 'n' roll world, the corporate sector, African-Americans, gays and lesbians and many more. Intimately connected with the fringes of our culture and responding with vigilance to new developments in technology, slang is the fastest changing part of our language. This new edition considers the subcultures that have emerged in the wake of the past decade's technological and communication advances, including the advent of computer usage at home and in the workplace and the explosion of the Internet and the World Wide Web. With more than 2,000 new terms, the Lexicon of the '90s is recorded here in definitive detail. Like previous editions, this edition features pronunciation guides, word origins, examples of appropriate usage as well as a helpful highlighting system that lets you know which terms should be used with caution, and never in polite company. Both as important archive of the way America is really talking and a lot of fun to read, The Dictionary of American Slang will prove to be an invaluable companion in keeping up with the dauntingly jargon-filled, quickly evolving language of today.

The Slangman Guide to STREET SPEAK 1 takes you through the colorful and popular world of everyday American slang and idioms used by all native speakers of English in the US. It has been featured on CNN, BBC, Voice of America, and several other international TV broadcasts.For ESL (English as a Second Language) students, this book equals years of living in the USA and will help you to quickly integrate into the American culture by learning not only the slang and idioms, but we'll also take you through the contractions and reductions used by everyone such as I dunno ("I do not know") and D'jeet jet? ("Did you eat yet?") and so many others.Entertaining dialogues, activities and games will make sure you have a blast ("have fun") and don't sweat it ("get tense") as you get up to speed ("become current") on all the typical slang and idioms used by virtually every native speaker! So chill out ("relax"), kick back ("get comfortable") as you learn the real language spoken by virtually all of us in the USA!NOTE: Audio CDs sold separately.The Slangman Guide to STREET SPEAK 1 contains popular chapters on slang and idioms associated with:PartiesShoppingMoviesAirportsRestaurantsHealthMarketsAt SchoolDating