The Oxford Dictionary of Slang
John Ayto
Oxford University Press, USA
Slang is language with its sleeves rolled up, colorful, pointed, brash, bristling with humor and sometimes with hostility. Here, John Ayto has brought together over 10,000 slang words and phrases common to 20th-century English, to provide a comprehensive and highly engaging guide to the most outspoken corner of our language. Unlike most such dictionaries, this volume is organized thematically, with slang words gathered under such headings as "the body and its functions" or "sustenance and intoxication." Within each section, the words are listed chronologically, starting with the century's earliest words and phrases and progressing right through to the present day, thus illuminating the development of slang and colloquial language over the last hundred years. Word origins and other interesting features of usage are given wherever possible, as are illustrative quotations from a wide range of authors.  A comprehensive A-Z index lists all words included in the dictionary, so you can find a particular word quickly. From "five-finger discount" to "forty-rod whiskey," this is an authoritative and up-to-date record of slang throughout the English-speaking world.</p><p><b>Amazon.com Review  If your other reference books aren't funky enough for you, get a nickel bag of unorthodoxy with the <I>Oxford Dictionary of Slang</I>.  This  comprehensive look at informal English from around the world and across the  centuries is organized thesaurus-style into sections for easy browsing by  category.  Look up underground terminology for drugs and sex and you'll be  browsing for a month of Sundays.  Of course, if you need to get the skinny  on a particular term but have no idea what it could mean, there's an  alphabetical index that'll take you right where you need to go.  Each word  or phrase is thoroughly documented, as you'd expect from an Oxford  dictionary; its first print sighting, place of use, meanings, and  cross-contextual references are included, as well as illuminating usage  quotes.  The <I>Dictionary</I> is easy to use and the definitions are concise--you can get the information you need quickly with time left to linger over  related terms. More than 10,000 entries yield plenty of insight into  commonly used but still-not-quite-kosher parts of our language.  When your  New Zealander buddy refers to someone as a <I>cow-spanker</I>, you won't have to  wonder for long just who you're dealing with (don't worry, she's a dairy  farmer); the <I>Oxford Dictionary of Slang</I> will give you the moxie to  deal with a discombobulated world. <I>--Rob Lightner</I>