The Pocket Dictionary of American Slang

by Harold Wentworth (Compiler), Stuart Berg Flexner

AMERICAN SLANG - The highly colored, many-flavored words and expressions of every sector of our national life--the beat generation, Madison Avenue, the underworld, prizefighters, teenyboppers, addicts, astronauts, soda jerks, and hobos. Slang is the popular expression of many sub-groups--some of which are the Army, Navy & Merchant Marine, immigrants, hobos & tramps, railroad workers, baseball players & fans, show business workers, high school students & general teenagers, college students, financial district employees, jazz musicians & fans, narcotic addicts, & the underworld. Each group's unique words are listed and defined amongst thousands of definitions of American Slang!

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction

414 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

Reviews

[Bernie4444 · Rating 4 out of 5]

As long as you do not look up anything since 1066 oops 1960.

This dictionary is an abridgment. However, you would be hard-pressed to find anything missing. It is not slang from obscure groups but does cover most mainstream slang. I have tried to trip it up several times and failed.

Much of this so-called slang is now mainstream vocabulary and you will need to scan this book to add to your repertoire.