American Slang Dictionary, Fourth Edition

For the 411 on American slang, this guidebook is the top banana

From "head trip" to "foot in mouth," American Slang Dictionary gives you the complete definitions of thousands of uniquely American words and phrases, ranging from golden oldies such as "catch some rays" and "take the fifth" to more up-to-the-minute coinages like Wall Street's "jonx," the Internet's "ping," and the gangsta's favorite, "shizzle."

Inside you'll find more than 12,000 words and expressions from a wide variety of sources, including gangsta rap, the blogosphere, and the U.S. prison system. In a New York minute, you'll be down with the colloquialisms, vulgarities, and substandard English that make everyday interactions in contemporary American life so colorful.

BSOD or blue screen of death the blue computer screen that appears after a programming or operational error
crunk wild; crazy; out of control
kvetch to complain
left-handed monkey wrench a nonexistent tool
word of mouse a message spread by e-mail

Author: Richard A. Spears
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
Published: 07/01/2006
Pages: 576
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.49lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.04w x 0.82d
ISBN: 9780071461085

Review Citation(s):
Rec Ref Bks for Small/Med Libr 01/01/2007 pg. 207
American Reference Bks Annual 01/01/2007 pg. 413

About the Author

Richard A. Spears, Ph.D., is a former reference editor and linguistics professor at Northwestern University. He has written more than 150 dictionaries.

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