Customer Reviews

Slang American Style : More Than 10,000 Ways to Talk the Talk

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A wonderful browsing book as well as a carefully researched reference tool, SLANG AMERICAN STYLE offers definitions and usage examples for more than 10,000 expressions. This second edition (published in 1997) adds about 2000 expressions to the first.

Phrases and words can be found either by looking in the dictionary section itself, or by using the "phrase-finder" index. One would need the index if, for example, the phrase looked for was "cut bait." It doesn't appear in the dictionary between "cut and run" and "cut corners," but the index points the reader to the phrase "Fish or cut bait."

The compiler, Richard A. Spears, collected these expressions from numerous sources, especially college students, television, old movies, and current magazines. He indicates the grammatical function for each word or phrase, and provides the phonetic pronuciation for some entries. For anyone who really needs a pronunciation guide, one is available in the front matter, which also contains a detailed breakdown of how each entry is structured.

The only problem I had with the book was the visually unsettling use of little squares to divide definitions within entries. The effect is the same as when a printer can't handle certain word-processing fonts. But overall, this is an excellent resource for the ever-fascinating world of American slang, and would make an excellent gift for language buffs or friends overseas.

I saw this book at Borders and Had to buy it -
I worked for the City of New York Queens District Attorney's
Office and have heard almost every accent from all over the
world, and accents of our own natives, along with some
words where I had to stop and ask, What did you say?
What does that mean?
With this book on your desk you will no longer be surmising and
calling up the lawyer trying to figure out what the witness said.
It has words and phrases I've never heard of before, yet
ones that my husband, as a NYC Police Officer, heard every night
on patrol in Jamaica.
Now I am teaching, and I have been recommending this book to my students. In fact, I'm ordering a couple for my graduates now!

As a writer, I sometimes use this book as a starter for dialogue. As a teacher of creative writing, I use phrases to jumpstart poems, stories and plays for my students. I know, it sounds counter-intuitive that the trite will be reborn fresh, but that happens.

GREAT BOOK TO OWN ! I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW MUCH IT HAS HELPED ME TO UNDERSAND
EVERYDAY ENGLISH. I REALLY RECOMMEND IT TO ALL SPANISH SPEAKERS. NOW I CAN UNDERSTAND MANY OF THE AMERICAN SLANG I HEAR ON MOVIES OR PEOPLE I TALK TO.