Synopses & Reviews
Bad-ass, bee's knees, and bomb-diffity - slang rulesTeachers, politicians, broadcasters, and parents complain of the slang-infested language of today's teenagers. But slang has been around for centuries, always troubling those who take a purist line on the English language. In this entertaining book, Julie Coleman traces the development of slang across the English-speaking world and explores why and how it flourishes. She makes use of a marvellous array of sources, including newly available online records of the Old Bailey, machine-searchable historical newspaper collections, slang users themselves, scholarly works, and the latest tweets. It is a book guaranteed to teach you some new words that you shold never use in polite company.
About the Author
Julie Coleman was born in Coventry and attended Finham Park Comprehensive. She studied at Manchester University and King's College London, taught at Lund University in Sweden, and is now a Professor in the School of English at the University of Leicester. She has written several books about dictionaries.
Table of Contents
1. What is Slang?
2. Spawning
3. Development
4. Survival and Metamorphosis
5. The Spread of Slang
6. Prigs, Culls, and Blosses: Cant and Flash Language
7. Jolly Good Show: British Slang to the Twentieth Century
8. Whangdoodles and Fixings: Early American Slang
9. Bludgers, Sooks and Moffies: English Slang around the World
10. Top Bananas and Bunny-boilers: The Media and Entertainment Age
11. Leet to Lols: The Digital Age
12. Endsville
Acknowledgements
Explanatory Notes
Bibliography
Word Index
Index