Straight from the Fridge, Dad: A Dictionary of Hipster Slang [Paperback]

Max Decharne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 6, 2001

Righteous jive for all you weedheads, moochers, b-girls, gassers, bandrats, triggermen, grifters, snowbirds, and long-gone daddies.

Much of the slang popularly associated with the hippie generation of the 1960s actually dates back to before World War II, hijacked in the main from jazz and blues street expressions, mostly relating to drugs, sex, and drinking. Why talk when you can beat your chops, why eat when you can line your flue, and why snore when you can call some hogs? You’re not drunk–you’re just plumb full of stagger juice, and your skin isn’t pasty, it’s just caf? sunburn. Need a black coffee? That’s a shot of java, nix on the moo juice.

Containing thousands of examples of hipster slang drawn from pulp novels, classic noir and exploitation films, blues, country, and rock ’n’ roll lyrics, and other related sources from the 1920s to the 1960s, Straight from the Fridge, Dad is the perfect guide for all hep cats and kittens. Think of it as a sort of Thirty Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary for the beret-wearing, bongo-banging set. Solid, Jackson.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Decharne's fun and appealing reference source offers words, phrases, and sentences derived from early 20th-century jazz musicians, crime figures, etc., as represented in such sources as film, pulp novels, blues, and country songs dating from the early 20th century through the mid-1960s. Often noir in tone, these colorful gems include examples illustrating the context. Although originally published in Great Britain, the book draws heavily on American slang. Decharne does not always authenticate the definitions with documentary proof, as with the entry "beat the boards," which he defines as "tapdance." Other times, an entry may include a series of sensational examples: "My solid pigeon, that drape is a killer-diller, an E-flat Dillinger, a bit of a fly thing all on one page," says a young woman complimenting a pretty dress. The book lacks editorial principles like those of the very impressive Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang (Vol. 1: LJ 8/94; Vol. 2: LJ 11/15/97), which provides a pronunciation key, indicates who or what group currently uses the entry, arranges the entries alphabetically according to the primary word, and offers variant forms and cross references. Nonetheless, Decharne's book includes many entries that do not appear in Random House. Highly recommended for reference collections serving writers, historians, hipsters, and anyone who enjoys language. Michelle Foyt, Russell Lib., Middletown, CT
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Fun and appealing . . . draws heavily on American slang . . . Highly recommended for reference collections serving writers, historians, hipsters, and anyone who enjoys language."  —Library Journal

"An afternoon spent poring through a vocabulary-building guide for your inner hipster is time well spent . . . Décharné has compiled the most righteous slang from film noir, blues, country, jazz and pulp fiction; with annotations and examples galore, it's guaranteed to turn a rube into a real wild child."  —Entertainment Weekly

"There's no question that in the pages of Straight from the Fridge, Dad, everyday speech is put through some hilarious and convoluted permutations. But you don't have to take that on faith. Just cop a squat, cast your lamps on the book's leaves and dig its mellow kicks."  —Chicago Tribune

"If you are the kind of hep cat who harbours a burning urge to gas the slobs, then the righteous Max is the man. He shoots the works to fascinating and often hilarious effect."  —Esquire

"You'll surely be interested in having a new way to irritate your friends with obnoxious and obscure ways of saying 'to have sex' or to 'get drunk' (give 'burn rubber' and 'burning with a low blue flame' a whirl). Décharné has done a lot of homework here, but reading his book doesn't feel like school."  —Philadelphia Weekly News

"If you enjoy watching noir films, listening to blues or jazz, reading pulp novels or poring over certain song lyrics, this "dictionary of hipster slang", a guide to hep as it was spoken through the first half of the last century, will prove indispensable."  —Independent

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Broadway (November 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767908406
• ISBN-13: 978-0767908405
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.4 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #707,260 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Groovy, April 8, 2002

By 

Keja L. Beeson (Brawley, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Straight from the Fridge, Dad: A Dictionary of Hipster Slang (Paperback)

This is such a fun book. The best part are the footnotes. They explain where the terms originate from (movies, novels...)I got Straight from the Fridge, because I wanted to look up "normal" words and find what the slang might be so I could jazz up the speech in a short story. However, the book is not set up that way. It is organized in alphabetical order for the slang term only. Despite this drawback, it is a great source and well worth the read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What's Hip Today Might Become Passe, June 1, 2006

By 

M. Allen Greenbaum (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Straight from the Fridge, Dad: A Dictionary of Hipster Slang (Paperback)

Subtitled "A Dictionary of Hipster Slang," this is a broad overview of mostly noirish/beat slang that will be enjoyed mostly be devotees of those genres. As mentioned by another reviewer, the organization is alphabetical only (as opposed to thematic, chronological, or source), so this lacks efficiency as a resource book--it's better for browsing. On the other hand, the somewhat narrower focus makes this more a heck of a lot more fun than the big and dry "Dictionary of Modern Slang," which is more complete but, akin to reading a dictionary. The slang expression is in a greyed margin on the left; brief explanations and examples are to the right.

The book has flaws: The etymology of the slang is sparing; there are some examples of works in which it was used (but we don't know if that was the first use) for some but not all of the words. Most disappointing? Not a single picture except the book cover. To some extent, that may limit its "gift appeal," and, more importantly, and presents the words without much context. Perhaps copyright issues were at play; still, even scene-setting period photos would have evoked the slang's cultural and historical referents. There's also no index, although that's somewhat expected given the paltry organization. Given all this, the book (at around $15.00) is currently overpriced. Still, since there aren't many competitors, it has merit as browsing material (especially), and somewhat as a reference for "hipster" language.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars great book with a major problem, March 11, 2010

By 

Qfroman "Qfroman" (California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Straight from the Fridge, Dad: A Dictionary of Hipster Slang (Paperback)

This book is a great reference for writers looking for great dialogue, it has a ton of obscure and well known phrases with, in some cases, references to where the phrase got popularized.

I did however find one big problem with the book. When I get a book for reference, no matter the subject, I never peruse the pages for what I need; I go to the index. This book does not have an index. Reference book fail. Also, to make using it as a reference book even worse, it organizes the words by the slang not by the word the slang replaces There are a lot of words for alcohol, but instead of finding them in one place, I have to search through the book.

Another little thing that bugged me was that the book talked about gathering slang from most of the first half of the 20th century but does not put dates of use for most of its content.

So I like it, but if another book comes along that makes the reference process easier, I'll be going with that one.