or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime Free Trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn More
Sell Back Your Copy
For a $4.50 Gift Card
Trade in
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions: The Most Up-to-Date Reference for the Nonstandard Usage, Popular Jargon, and Vulgarisms of Contempos (McGraw-Hill ESL References)
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions: The Most Up-to-Date Reference for the Nonstandard Usage, Popular Jargon, and Vulgarisms of Contempos (McGraw-Hill ESL References) [Hardcover]

Richard Spears (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

List Price: $22.95
Price: $15.55 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $7.40 (32%)
  Special Offers Available
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Want it delivered Tuesday, January 31? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
Textbook Student FREE Two-Day Shipping for Students. Learn more

Sell Back Your Copy for $4.50
Whether you buy it used on Amazon for $11.56 or somewhere else, you can sell it back through our Book Trade-In Program at the current price of $4.50.
Used Price$11.56
Trade-in Price$4.50
Price after
Trade-in
$7.06

Book Description

0071461078 978-0071461078 September 23, 2005 4

More bling for the buck! The #1 guide to American slang is now bigger, more up-to-date, and easier to use

This new edition of McGraw-Hill’s Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions offers complete definitions of more than 12,000 slang and informal expressions from various sources, ranging from golden oldies such as . . . golden oldie, to recent coinages like shizzle (gangsta), jonx (Wall Street), and ping (the Internet). Each entry is followed by examples illustrating how an expression is used in everyday conversation and, where necessary, International Phonetic Alphabet pronunciations are given, as well as cautionary notes for crude, inflammatory, or taboo expressions.

This edition also features a fascinating introduction on “What is Slang?,” a Thematic Index that cross-references expressions by standard terms--such as Angry, Drunk, Food, Good-bye, Mess-up, Money, and Stupidity--and a Hidden Word Index that lets you identify and locate even partially remembered expressions and phrases.


Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • Buy $50 in qualifying physical textbooks, get $5 in Amazon MP3 Credit. Here's how (restrictions apply)

Frequently Bought Together

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions: The Most Up-to-Date Reference for the Nonstandard Usage, Popular Jargon, and Vulgarisms of Contempos (McGraw-Hill ESL References) + Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook + NTC's Dictionary of Everyday American English Expressions (McGraw-Hill ESL References)
Price For All Three: $36.25

Show availability and shipping details

Buy the selected items together
  • In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Webster's New World American Idioms Handbook $11.55

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • NTC's Dictionary of Everyday American English Expressions (McGraw-Hill ESL References) $9.15

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details



Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Richard A. Spears, Ph.D., is a former reference editor and linguistics professor at Northwestern University. He has written more than 150 dictionaries.


Product Details

  • Hardcover: 576 pages
  • Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 4 edition (September 23, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0071461078
  • ISBN-13: 978-0071461078
  • Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #232,680 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

 

Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
5 star:
 (5)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Meh. It could be 100 pages shorter., February 15, 2008
By 
D. Lucas (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions: The Most Up-to-Date Reference for the Nonstandard Usage, Popular Jargon, and Vulgarisms of Contempos (McGraw-Hill ESL References) (Hardcover)
Not impressed with this book. I bought it to help me write, but a lot of the expressions are not well sourced and many are so... British that it doesn't make sense to call it American slang.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars unusually helpful, July 18, 2010
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions: The Most Up-to-Date Reference for the Nonstandard Usage, Popular Jargon, and Vulgarisms of Contempos (McGraw-Hill ESL References) (Hardcover)
I got this book because I write novels with characters just like you and me. So we don't all talk like dictionaries, so I wanted to find a dictionary they talked like- and this one was rather helpful (and highly amusing reading!!!) My friend is an English teacher and even she thought it was pretty neat.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible useful book, February 20, 2010
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions: The Most Up-to-Date Reference for the Nonstandard Usage, Popular Jargon, and Vulgarisms of Contempos (McGraw-Hill ESL References) (Hardcover)
I have found this book really interesting and useful.
Either if you are learning english or you want to update yourself and understad many films, this book is a must for you.
It is very complete and easy going.
I highly recommend you to buy it.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews





Only search this product's reviews



Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
wild card word, knock sth, ally objectionable, alcohol intoxicated, drug intoxicated, protected trade name, rude term, news group messages, general slang, computer forum, repellent person, receptacle for the penis, swindle someone, pink spiders, tube steak, pronounced aloud, chase yourself, annoy someone, usually derogatory, despised person, porcelain god, stupid person, annoying person
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Harry the Horse, Maple Street, Sam Hill, King Kong, Big Mac, Fourth Street, Joel Cairo, New York City, Persian Gulf War, Index of Hidden Key Words, American Indian, East Asian, Madison Avenue, Mary Jane, Phonetic Alphabet, Prince Albert, San Francisco, Smiley Wearing, Star Trek, Aunt Flo, Charlie Irvine, Gland Canyon, Joe Schmo, Joe Six-pack, John Hancock
New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:



What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums



So You'd Like to...



Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject