Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English: Colloquialisms, and Catch-Phrases, Solecisms and Catachresis, Nicknames, and Vulgarisms [Hardcover]

Eric Partridge (Author)

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Wordslinger Eric Partridge intended his dictionary to be a "humble companion" to the Oxford English Dictionary--a ribald companion is more like it! In Partridge's domain, a gentleman's pleasure-garden has little to do with the horticultural, referring as it does to the genitalia muliebria. On the other hand, play pussy is a Royal Air Force term meaning "to take advantage of cloud cover," and since the 1970s British forces have called intelligence operatives secret squirrels. And so it goes.

There is enough slang, cant ("i.e., language of the underworld"), and expletives here for all takers--there's low, Cockney rhyming, "picturesque Australian similes," society phrases, and even the semiproverbial. Dorothy Wordsworth, of all people, used a nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse--a phrase "applied to a covert yet comprehensible hint, though often stupidity is implied."

Partridge also reveals low language's less larky side. His book can be a dark record of linguistic prejudice through the ages. Of course, in a slang dictionary, nothing is what it seems. Elevated means "drunk"; a deep-freezer is "a girl or woman of the prim or keep-off-me type"; and stage fright is late-20th-century rhyming slang for "a (glass of) light (ale)." Are you able to descry what the jocular Seduce my ancient footwear really means? If not, consider consulting Partridge's masterwork, as large as life and twice as natural.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1440 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan General Reference; 8 Sub edition (March 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0025949802
• ISBN-13: 978-0025949805
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.7 x 2.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,124,153 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English by Partridge, June 28, 2006

By 

Joseph S. Maresca "Dr. Joseph S. Maresca CPA,... (Bronxville, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English: Colloquialisms, and Catch-Phrases, Solecisms and Catachresis, Nicknames, and Vulgarisms (Hardcover)

This is an excellent reference work for readers of colloquial
English. It would be perfect for books like Captains Courageous
or The Yearling. The author provides a lexicographical foundation.
Common phrases are:
- to jigget (fidget)
- chalk a talk is a teacher
- saucy jack is an important fellow

The acqusition is well worth the price for professional proofreaders, writers, editors and readers of literature.

5.0 out of 5 stars What the heck does that mean?, December 7, 2010

By 

J. Guild (Toronto,Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English: Colloquialisms, and Catch-Phrases, Solecisms and Catachresis, Nicknames, and Vulgarisms (Hardcover)

If you do any amount of reading,this is an excellent resource to have on your bookshelf.It is a big,dictionary sized book of 1400 pages,and has over 100,000 listings.It may not have every slang word or saying;but its certainly got a lot and more than that,it has a zillion you have never even heard.I find it fun to just open it up at any page and read away.
Just for fun,that is exacatly what I just did.I randomly opened it at page 377.The first entry was :

"fallen angel"-A defaulter,a bankrupt :Stock Exchange
I thought it meant a prostitute.Then I checked "soiled dove" a term used in the Old West.On page 1111 there it was
"soiled dove"-A high-flying harlot later C19-early C20.
then there's,
"false as my knife"-As with knives,so with false friends--they'll cut me.
Or how about
"fam trip"-A familiarization flight in a new aircraft.
or
"fan in a fin"-A helicopter's 13 tail roters which,since they are shrouded , are known as"fan in fin"
or how's this one;
"false hereafter"-A dress-improver or bustle-used 1890-1900.
Then there's this one,
"family pound"-A family grave.
or
"family hotel"-A prison. 1840-1890 "In a ward with one's pals,Not locked up in a cell."To an old hand like me it's a family hotel".

That should give you an idea of what to expect.I choose only a few of the many entries on this one page;and just imagine what is to be found on the other 1400 pages.