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.

"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