American Slang Dictionary: The Ultimate Reference to Nonstandard Usage, Colloquialisms, Popular Jargon and Vulgarisms (4th revised and enlarged edition)

Dictionaries should be much more than mere lists of word‐for‐word equivalents. Their compilation to best purpose demands refined linguistic skills, keen observation, and familiarity with the social or occupational contexts from which words are drawn for elucidation. The supreme model is surely the multi‐volume Oxford English Dictionary (OED), compiled on historical principles, lavish in illustration of usage and indicating etymology and pronunciation. On a more modest scale American Slang Dictionary (ASD) meets the desirable criteria. Its creator, Dr Richard A. Spears is a “former reference editor and linguistics professor” at Northwestern University, Illinois, with more than...