How could you omit Eric Partridge, "A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English"? As the title says, it includes not only traditional slang, but unusual uses which we might not consider slang. For example, looking at the end of the Ms, where the dictionary fell open, we have entries for Myrtle the Turtle (Aus. nickname of any girl named Myrtle: since ca. 1910.), mustall crikey! (Christ Almighty), mystery (a sausage: somewhat low: from ca. 1885), mystery mad; mystery punter (a "girl crazy" man who spends time obsessively on the look-out for such young girls so that he can live with them for a short period), mystery ship (a decoy ship or Q boat), and mzuri! (All right!: army: Swahili word, adopted from African troops serving in Burma).
For me, this is certainly a staple, if not THE staple, of slang dictionaries, and will be until the Random House is finished. (And will still be a staple after that.) |
