"The charms of The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English bring to mind a younger brother with troubled friends who has memorized long stretches of dialogue from movies starring stoners or mobsters." -- The Nation, December 2008 Praise for The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, edited by Tom Dalzell and Terry Victor: 'This dictionary informs, but it also entertains.' Booklist 'This dictionary is huge fun.' The Times Literary Supplement '...no term is excluded because it might be considered offensive as a racial, ethnic, religious, sexual, or any kind of slur...' Against the Grain '...the editors have succeeded in ... observing high standards of lexicography while producing an accessible work.' Choice '...you can dip in just about anywhere and enjoy the exuberant, endless display of human inventiveness with language.' BOOKFORUM 'Modern American Slang is an unbeatable bargain, soundly academic, and a really useful reference work for all libraries, all linguistics, all sociologists, and all press rooms.' - Reference Reviews 'To quote Paul Dickson (author of The Dickson Baseball Dictionary) ..".a five-alarm, slam-dunk, grand-slam home run of a book." - Reference Reviews

The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang offers the ultimate record of modern, post WW2 American Slang.

The 25,000 entries are accompanied by citations that authenticate the words as well as offer examples of usage from popular literature, newspapers, magazines, movies, television shows, musical lyrics, and Internet user groups. Etymology, cultural context, country of origin and the date the word was first used are also provided. In terms of content, the cultural transformations since 1945 are astounding. Television, computers, drugs, music, unpopular wars, youth movements, changing racial sensitivities and attitudes towards sex and sexuality are all substantial factors that have shaped culture and language.

This new edition includes over 500 new headwords collected with citations from the last five years, a period of immense change in the English language, as well as revised existing entries with new dating and citations.

No term is excluded on the grounds that it might be considered offensive as a racial, ethnic, religious, sexual or any kind of slur. This dictionary contains many entries and citations that will, and should, offend.

Rich, scholarly and informative, The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English is an indispensable resource for language researchers, lexicographers and translators.

Tom Dalzell is a lawyer and a leading expert on American slang.