Bingo Boys and Poodle Fakers: A Curious Compendium of Historical Slang Collected from the Best Authorities

by Clare MacKie (Illustrator), Fred Powledge

Attaboys, Gorgers, Night-Hawks and Widos, the street argot of the past is every bit as colourful and irreverent as todays hip hop and bling. Slang has always aroused strong opinions, but whether you agree with Alan Bennett that there is something suspect about those in the vanguard of slang or with John Galsworthy that it is vigorous and apt, this fascinating new compendium unveils a wealth of information about the fads and peccadilloes of bygone days. What does it say, for instance, about the English that they once had over 100 terms for gin, including Stark Naked, Stinkious, and Wind? Always inventive, frequently hilarious and occasionally utterly outrageous slang is an exuberant celebration of the comic possibilities of everyday life. From Monday Mice to Marriage Music, Wiffle-Woffles to Bummaree, dip into the pages of Bingo Boys and Poodle-Fakers and discover the rough and rumbustious delights of Shakespeare's man of fire-new words, fashions own knight: the ever-changing underworld of the English language.

124 pages, Hardback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[David]

Curiously prudish sometimes, and frequently giving definitions that are utterly unfamiliar, yet also identifying things such as "twack" as having a specifically Newfoundland context. Interesting, as all collections of language can be.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bingo Boys and Poodle Fakers: A Curious Compendium of Historical Slang Collected from the Best Authorities
by Clare MacKie (Illustrator), Fred Powledge

This is an English version of a dictionary of outdated terms, it is hilarious to see meanings for words that are in common use with a whole obliquitious meanings behind words. a great resource given by my Uncle to help with classroom learning, and as a curiosity.