The three volumes of Green's Dictionary of Slang demonstrate the sheer scope of a lifetime of research by Jonathon Green, the leading slang lexicographer of our time. A remarkable collection of this often reviled but endlessly fascinating area of the English language, it covers slang from the past five centuries right up to the present day, from all the different English-speaking countries and regions. Every word and phrase is authenticated by genuine and fully-referenced citations of its use, giving the work a level of authority and scholarship unmatched by any other publication in this field. Green's Dictionary of Slang is a groundbreaking work. Quite simply, it is the most authoritative and comprehensive record of slang ever to be made available.
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"Mr Slang, aka Jonathon Green" --Martin Amis, Experience
Praise for Jonathon Green's Chambers Slang Dictionary: "The most-acclaimed British lexicographer since Johnson has every right to blow off ('late 18th century: to boast, to brag'. What did you think?) as he wraps up a new edition of this most mind-bendingly addictive guide to taboo talk." --Boyd Tonkin, The Independent
"Jonathon Green is the nation's indefatigable lexicographer of filth, a tireless troweller in the slurry of the unsayable." -- John Walsh, 'Hail to the Professor of Profanity', The Independent
"So fun to flip through...the most complete dictionary of slang every published...delight[ful]." --Time Magazine
Praise for Jonathon Green's Chambers Slang Dictionary: "The most-acclaimed British lexicographer since Johnson has every right to blow off ('late 18th century: to boast, to brag'. What did you think?) as he wraps up a new edition of this most mind-bendingly addictive guide to taboo talk." --Boyd Tonkin, The Independent
"Jonathon Green is the nation's indefatigable lexicographer of filth, a tireless troweller in the slurry of the unsayable." -- John Walsh, 'Hail to the Professor of Profanity', The Independent
"So fun to flip through...the most complete dictionary of slang every published...delight[ful]." --Time Magazine
About the Author
Jonathon Green is the English-speaking world's foremost lexicographer of slang. His many publications include Chambers Slang Dictionary, the Slang Thesaurus and Slang Down the Ages. He has also compiled dictionaries of quotations and oral histories of modern culture.
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4.7 out of 5 stars
3 reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a beauty!
Mar 20 2011
By eightcats
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this Dictionary because I love words, their origins, their correct use, their misuse, their ambiguity (at times) and the fact that there is always one to describe what you're seeing or thinking or doing or thinking of doing, or have done, or will do. Jonathan Green, with the input of many others, has documented thousands of wonderful slang words used by all manner of people all over the world, and done a fantastic job of it. I'm sure he'll be the first to admit that there are many, many others (I looked for several words and phrases that weren't there) but he should be very proud of this Sisyphean achievement. These tomes are a scholarly, interesting and educational, and frankly just plain fun read. Just pick one up and open it at random. Hard to put down, many entries will bring a smile. As a Kiwi, I was thrilled to find the word 'wopcacker' had been included, but disappointed to find it initially attributed as Australian. I forgive Mr Green this transgression given the tiring late nights he must've beavered to put together such a work of art.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
everything I loved in a good dictionary
Mar 7 2011
By Zhou Qiao
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Just about everything. The citations, dates, layout, fonts, paper size and quality, binding.... Such great fun to browse.
The set I got is published by Chambers (2010), not Oxford (2011) as advertised here. Maybe Oxford is issuing it too. But I just love the Chambers style.
The set I got is published by Chambers (2010), not Oxford (2011) as advertised here. Maybe Oxford is issuing it too. But I just love the Chambers style.
9 of 17 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Vast but sometimes uncritical compilation
Feb 7 2011
By Wayne Dynes
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Clocking in at 6000 pages (and in small type at that) this is surely the biggest slang dictionary ever compiled. Yet there are some reasons to fear that quantity has triumphed over quality. For example, the entry on "gay" suggests that the meaning "homosexual" may have stemmed from 16th-century French "gaie." This claim is preposterous, for no such meaning for the French adjective has been documented prior to the introduction of the term from the anglophone sphere in the 20th century. The attribution stems from the "Lavender Lexicon" by an enthusiastic California scholar, the late Bruce Rodgers. His book abounds in nonce coinages--that is, words and definitions of words made up by particular individuals of Rodger's acquaintance. To be sure, the popularity of the book may have put some of these gems into circulation afterwards. If so, however, there acceptance should have been documented by another citation. Such is often lacking in the Green work, so that a misleading impression is conveyed. One cannot help wondering also whether some ephemeral words collected on particular US college campuses enjoy any real circulation. Prison usage presents similar problems.
Perusing this set provides real pleasures, but it is not authoritative in the way that, say, Lighter's work on American slang actually is.
Perusing this set provides real pleasures, but it is not authoritative in the way that, say, Lighter's work on American slang actually is.
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4.7 out of 5 stars
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