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Slang is evidence that the spoken language is continually changing to meet new needs for verbal expressions, tailored to changing realities and perceptions. Unlike most slang dictionaries that list entries alphabetically, Slang takes on modern American English one topic at a time, from “auctionese” to “computerese”, the drug trade and sports slang. Slang was originally published by Pocket Books in 1990 in paperback (ISBN 0671672517, out of print) and revised in 1998 in hardcover and paperback (ISBN 0671549200 and 0671549197; hc out of print soon after publication, pb in print until 2005). The new Slang has 50% new material, including new chapters on slang associated with work cubicles, gaming, hip hop, and coffeehouses. Dickson brings slang into the twenty-first century with such blogger slang as TMPMITW, which stands for “the most powerful man in the world” (the president). Whether you want to be privy to the inside banter of the boardroom, backroom or the Washington Beltway, Slang is an indispensable resource, and a lot of fun. Paul Dickson, coauthor of The Bonus Army, has written numerous language books and dictionaries, including War Slang, The Congress Dictionary, and The New Dickson Baseball Dictionary. He has written for Smithsonian, Esquire, The Nation, Town & Country, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post. A founding member and former president of Washington Independent writers and a member of the National Press Club, Dickson is a contributing editor at Washingtonian magazine and a former consulting editor at Merriam-Webster, Inc. Nothing reflects—and shapes—American popular culture more than slang. White collar or blue, newbie or geek, every niche of society has its own terms that take on special meaning within context, depending on whether one is a biker or a blogger. New words are continually coined and old ones take on new meanings to keep up with fast-paced changes in industry, politics, and lifestyles. Paul Dickson's Slang organizes slang words for easy browsing, allowing the reader to look up words associated with the vernaculars of coffee bars, eBay, the drug culture, gaming, hip-hop, real estate, traditional and extreme sports, the Washington Beltway, and much more. Dickson goes far beyond simple definitions; instead, he provides introductory narratives, descriptions, and sidebars that illustrate how terms and phrases fit into the subcultures that spawned them. First published in 1990, again in 1998—and now revised and expanded, with new chapters and 10,000 words that reflect American life today—Slang is a book for anyone who wants to be up to speed on American English and contemporary culture. "Dickinson does it again, entrancing those who want to eavesdrop on the slanguage of everyone from baristas to bitheads."—Erin McKean, American lexicographer and editor of Verbatim: The Language Quarterly "With focus, a passion for language, and a world-class ear, Dickson has produced brilliant chapter after brilliant chapter, any one of which would be a lifetime achievement for most lexicographers."—Tom Dalzell, senior editor of The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English and author of Flappers 2 Rappers—American Youth Slang "Dickson is the author of numerous well-received one-man lexical works written in a very accessible style, among them War Slang and The Congress Dictionary. His third edition of Slang both an update and a revision of the earlier editions includes 30 topics, such as 'Bureaucratese' and 'Real Estate,' and more than 10,000 words. Some topics from earlier editions have been dropped (e.g., 'Pentagonese,' 'Countercultural Slang'), others have undergone minor title changes, while nine are new topics altogether (e.g., 'Hip-hop,' 'Net-speak'). The topical arrangement is unique among dictionaries of American slang, and the published edition [includes] an index . . . Dickson does a better job here of providing the sources he used to compile the entries in his own book, and he gives more information on origins than in previous editions . . . Dickson's is a useful addition to any reference collection and will complement rather than replace his earlier editions."—Peter Dollard, Library Journal ...
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“Helpful to anyone who ever expects to be called on to give a toast.”—Library Journal For nearly thirty years, Paul Dickson’s Toasts has been the perfect reference for any occasion where one needs to raise a glass. Organized by category, it contains sayings famous and profound, suitable and sentimental. Covering births, weddings, graduations, and other events both major and minor, Dickson also provides a history of the toast, and a guide on how to do it well. Revised for the first time since 1991, this new edition of Toasts is as useful as ever. ...
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In this unique book, Paul Dickson celebrates one of the most unusual traditions in all of sports--the baseball scorecard. Within the history of the scorecard are some of baseball’s greatest moments. From the first scorecard introduced in 1845, to the scoring system devised by direct-marketing genius L. L. Bean; from presidential scoring habits to batting titles decided by official scorers, to Phil Rizzuto’s inspired scoring symbol “WW,” (“Wasn’t Watching”), Dickson delights in his subject, offering unique insights and memorable anecdotes. Among the book’s many illustrations is a gallery of historic scorecards, including Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series, Babe Ruth’s famous “called” home run, and Cal Ripken’s record-breaking 2,131st consecutive game.
In addition, Dickson provides basic and advanced scoring techniques for beginners and experts alike, a year-by-year timeline of rule changes, a guide to baseball’s quirkiest statutes, stories of famous scoring blunders, and many more unexpected rewards. For those who keep or have kept score, this book will be an elixir. For those who haven’t, it will be a revelation. For baseball fans everywhere, it is a treasure. ...
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Baseball has always had its share of colorful characters, and over the years they have expressed themselves in eminently quotable ways. In this treasury of more than 5,000 quotations, noted baseball writer and observer Paul Dickson has captured the flavor of the game, in the words of its most important participants and onlookers. They are all here—from Aaron (Estella, Hank's mother) to Zoldack ("Sad Sack" Sam), and everyone in between. From the players, sportswriters, and politicians to noted personalities in other fields (a very diverse group, including, for instance, Tiger Woods, Virginia Woolf, and Bob Dylan), everyone has his or her say on our nation's pastime. Dickson skillfully selects and annotates each remark, presenting the good, the bad, and the ugly of baseball lore. One unique feature of this revised edition is the inclusion of pull-out sections featuring quotations by and about many of the game's most quotable characters. Included are extended lessons in Stengelese, Reggiespeak, Earl Weaverisms, and famous announcers' home-run calls (who can forget Mel Allen's classic "Going, going, gone!"?). These and thousands of other cheerful, pithy, and memorable voices from the past through the present day are all captured in Baseball's Greatest Quotations. ...
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The expanded and now-definitive work on the language of baseball—“That rarest of sports books, a valuable reference work that provides absorbing and enlightening reading.” (Sports Illustrated) Hailed as “a staggering piece of scholarship” (Wall Street Journal) The Dickson Baseball Dictionary is the most complete resource on the lexicon of baseball in the English language. More than twenty-five years in the making, with the help of more than 400 baseball and lexical experts, this masterful third edition, expanded by more than 30 percent, with over 10,000 terms and 18,000 definitions, provides the comprehensive history and meanings of words and phrases from around the world of baseball.
Drawing on dozens of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century periodicals, as well as contemporary sources, Paul Dickson’s brilliant, illuminating definitions trace the earliest appearances of our most treasured baseball expressions (“tearin’ up the pea patch,” “can o’ corn,” “catbird seat,” etc.). Termed “baseball’s Webster,” Dickson has spent nearly a decade painstakingly revising and writing new definitions, for words both well-known and obscure, including those introduced by Latin-American ballplayers, and statistical expressions relating to fantasy baseball and the SABR/Moneyball era. More than 200 photos throughout the book—many rare and previously unpublished—illuminate various historical and contemporary terms.
Because of its deep and broad coverage, its authoritativeness and its rich and colorful descriptions, The Dickson Baseball Dictionary will prove indispensable to baseball fans and word lovers alike. 263 illustrations....
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Here it is—from the Guinness World Records holder for the most English synonyms ever recorded, for the word “drunk.”
Wise-guy lexicographer Paul Dickson, a consulting editor at Merriam-Webster, has long held the record for collecting the "Most Synonyms" for any term in the English language. He made the Guinness Book of World Records with 2,231 terms meaning "drunk"–beating out no less than Benjamin Franklin, who published his own list (The Drinker's Dictionary) in 1736. But records are made to be broken . . . .
Enter Drunk, wherein Dickson breaks his own record by a mile with with 2,964 terms for tipsy: blitzed, roasted, on the sauce, whazood, whiskey frisky, and Boris Yelstinned. And thousands more.
An introduction puts the list into context: Why are there so many synonyms for "drunk" and how did Dickson get to collecting them? Dickson's wacky terms are annotated, too, and lushly illustrated, explaining the twist and turns of a language that has thousands of ways to describe somebody who is two sheets to the wind. How, for example, does a word like "blotto" go from the lips of P.G. Wodehouse, into the writings of Edmund Wilson, before landing with Otto from The Simpsons ("My name is Otto, I like to get blotto").
It's a terrific exploration of language and a meditation on drinking culture throughout the ages....
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