American Slang Dictionary

by Richard A. Spears

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

Genres: Reference

546 pages, Paperback

First published June 29, 2006

Reviews

[Dino Nundu]

Okay

[Donna]

Fun to read. More fun to use the antiquated phrases and wait for the blank looks...

[Pegah]

Complete American slangs

[Lydie Blaizot]

Très intéressant, termes nombreux et bien expliqués, classés par ordre alphabétique avec, en plus, un index par thèmes à la fin de l'ouvrage.