Overview

Our longstanding love affair with the undignified bits of our language - the unguarded vocabulary of conversation, the quirky slang of in-groups, the colourful outbursts of lexis in extremis - has assured us a continuing tradition of collecting such words together in dictionaries. Rather than using the alphabetical format favoured by most of these, however, the Oxford Dictionary of Slang takes in turn each area of life and each aspect of the world that generates significant amounts of slang, and builds up a picture of how our off-guard speech has changed down the years. There is also a full alphabetical index. Containing over 10,000 words and phrases, this is the ideal reference for those interested in the more quirky and unofficial words used in the English language. Including surprisingly old words such as booze and guzzle to the most up-to-date words like humongous and lunchbox, this fascinating book is sure to provide a stonking good read for all.

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9780198607632

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Review from previous edition hours of happy browsing for language lovers The Observer

Author Information

Dr John Ayto is an experienced lexicographer and author of several language titles. His publications include the Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang, the Oxford Essential Guide to the English Language, the Longman Register of New Words, the Bloomsbury Dictionary of Word Origins and Twentieth Century Words, (OUP 1999), which was reviewed as 'An absolutely terrific book, brimming with nostalgia, thoroughly addictive and full of surprises'.

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