Dictionary of American Slang

Dictionary of American Slang

Dictionary of American Slang

Dictionary of American Slang

eBook

$11.49  $14.99 Save 23% Current price is $11.49, Original price is $14.99. You Save 23%.

Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
WANT A NOOK?  Explore Now

Related collections and offers

LEND ME® See Details

Overview

The fourth edition of this authoritative reference offers clear definitions for the slang words and idioms used in everyday American conversation.

First published in 1960, this newly updated edition of Dictionary of American Slang traces the language of today back to its American roots. With thousands of entries ranging from the widely accepted to the taboo and obscure, slang words are explained in terms of definition, usage, and historical etymology. As language continues to evolve at an ever-increasing rate, Dictionary of American Slang offers an essential guide to the terms that are here to stay—as well as those that might otherwise be forgotten.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780062043245
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: 11/21/2023
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 608
Sales rank: 611,137
File size: 4 MB

About the Author

Barbara Ann Kipfer, Ph.D., is a lexicographer who has authored or compiled more than forty books, including the Dictionary of American Slang (with Robert L. Chapman), The Order of Things, Writer's Digest Flip Dictionary, and the bestselling 14,000 Things to Be Happy About. She received her doctorate in linguistics from England's University of Exeter.


Dr. Robert L. Chapman, the founding editor of the Dictionary of American Slang, was a professor of English at Drew University.

Read an Excerpt

Dictionary of American Slang, Third Edition
Completely Revised and Updated

Chapter One

A

A n 1 Amphetamine 2 LSD; ACID (Narcotics)

AA (pronounced as separate letters) modifier : an AA barrage n An antiaircraft weapon, or antiaircraft fire; ACK-ACK, FLAK (WWI)

abandominiums n Abandoned apartments or houses where addicts use drugs : Abandominiums blighted the former middle-class neighborhood

abbreviated piece of nothing n A worthless or insignificant person or thing : Her unemployed neighbor is an abbreviated piece of nothing

abc gum n Gum that has already been chewed : There's abc gum under the desk

abdabs (or habdabs or screaming abdabs or screaming habdabs) n Anxiety or nervous tension : Starting any new project gives her the abdabs (1945+)

Abe's cabe (or abe) n phr A five-dollar bill [Jive talk 1930s+ & rock and roll 1950s+; fr Lincoln's portrait on the bill, perhaps a shortening and repronouncing of ''cabbage'']

A-bomb n 1 An atomic bomb 2 A car especially modified for quick acceleration and speed; hot rod (Hot rodders) 3 A combination of drugs, typically marijuana or hashish plus opium (Narcotics)

abortion n Something of very poor quality; a messy failure; Disaster : That show is a real abortion

about that See sorry about that

about townSee man-about-town

above one's head See in over one's head

abso-bloody-lutely modifier Absolutely : He absobloody-lutely wanted to see her again

absotively (posilutely) modifier Absolutely : I absotively posilutely want to watch the basketball games

academy See laughing academy

Acapulco gold n phr Marijuana of high quality grown near Acapulco, Mexico, and having leaves with a golden hue (Narcotics)

accident n A person born from an unplanned pregnancy; an unplanned pregnancy : At 50, this third one was an accident (1900+)

accidentally on purpose adv phr As if by accident, but really by intention : She missed the meeting accidentally on purpose

accommodation collar n phr An arrest made to fulfill a quota, usu in response to pressure for strong police action against crime (Police)

Dictionary of American Slang, Third Edition
Completely Revised and Updated
. Copyright © by Robert L. Chapman. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

What People are Saying About This

Dr. Robert Burchfield

"Shows American slang at its rip-roaring, zany, zappy best."

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews