If you like Dictionary of from Webster's Online Dictionary - The Rosetta Edition(TM) [www.websters-online-dictionary.org], you will love this book, which is compiled from the site into one handy reference. In 292 pages, all of your favorite content from the site is put into a concise volume for you to enjoy anywhere. Includes thousands of slangs and definitions from the 1800s. Enjoy!
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Editorial Reviews
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
BELCH. All sorts of beer; that liquor being apt to cause eructation. BLACK ART. The art of picking a lock. BLACK BOX. A lawyer. BOBBISH. Smart, clever, spruce. CHAP. A fellow; An odd chap; A strange fellow.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another reprint of Grose's slang dictionary,
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This review is from: Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue: extracted from Webster's Online Dictionary - The Rosetta Edition (Paperback)
I would like to write just a few words not only as a review but rather to make a slight clarification. This is an excellent book. However, I regret buying it because I had not realised that I already had a copy. The title of this particular edition (mentioning ROSETTA etc.) is very misleading ! I had expected to find a collection of American C19th slang analogous with Capt. Grose's monumental work on British slang (originally printed 1811). Yet the book is exactly the same! I had thought mistakenly (since no information whatsoever was available) that, having a different number of pages and being published in America, the collection would have been distinct. The title is an important issue and the publishers should bot have changed it. In all bibliographies of works on historical slang (particularly by Partridge etc.) the work is always attributed to the actual author Capt. Grose. In most references the name Grose would be provided (in brackets) to acknowledge any entry cited from this work.
This is a pioneering masterpiece of British (not American) slang and constitutes a rich collection of popular expressions derived from Cant, criminal slang as well as historical slang terms. For a start, the word 'Vulgar' is NOT used in the sense of obscene and disgusting (which would indeed be appropriate for certain collections of modern slang). Here 'vulgar' is used in its etymological sense (from the Latin 'vulgus' and 'vulgaris' meaning popular i.e. of the people and is thus a cognate of the word 'Vulgate' the popular Lain translation of the Bible). There are, of course, certain entries that do pertain to subjects which are regarded as taboo (e.g. 'Covent garden ague' meaning venereal disease and a 'Covent garden nun' meaning a prostitute - so named since the area of Covent Garden was once London's principal red light district). Nevertheless these entries are not too profuse and are invariably explained with the author's inimitable English subtlety. There are dozens of toponymous entries such as 'Essex lion' (a calf) and 'Tyburn blossom' (young thief or pickpocket - Tyburn once being the place of execution in London- for which this young criminal was no doubt destined). There are also eponymous phrases like 'Kemp's shoes' which also provides information about an old custom of throwing shoes. There are euphemisms and idiomatic phrases many of which are no longer in use. Most of the entries are succinct and do not generally provide the derivation of a given term. There are, however, intermittent 'folk etymologies' (as opposed to precise linguistic etymologies) included to explain some phrases. Another weakness of this particular publication (apart from the title) is that the page numbers do not correspond with other editions (i.e. it is not a facsimile reprint). There are, however, two main advantages of this edition: firstly, the price is very accessible. Secondly, a useful thematic index is provided as a supplement. This is an excellent collection of British colloquial expressions and terms for anyone (either side of the Atlantic) who loves the English language and enjoys learning new (or rather antiquated) phrases. I can strongly recommend any of the availalbe editions. However, please do not (like I did) purchase the two titles by mistake imagining that in doing so your are supplementing / complementing your research by acquiring a similar work. This title is indeed a great work by it is the SAME work. Whatever edition you choose you will be most satisfied.
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