Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, Volume I, A-G

by Jonathan E. Lighter

Book Overview

The only historical dictionary of slang -- spanning three hundred years of slang use in America. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394544277
• ISBN13: 9780394544274
• Release Date: June 1994
• Publisher: Random House Reference Publishing
• Length: 1080 Pages
• Weight: 6.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.1" x 9.0" x 11.3"

Customer Reviews

Oxford University Press is finishing this dictionary

Oxford University press is currently undertaking the massive editorial work required to finish this ground-breaking four-volume set that was started more than 25 years ago. The third volume, covering the alphabetic range of P through Sk, is due to appear in March 2007. Volume IV, covering Sk through Z and including a bibliography of tens of thousands of items, is planned for two years later.(...)

Random House has become "random"...

I must agree with settimio biondi from Italy. Having purchased the first two volumes, we've been waiting for 7 years for P~Z. This is an excellent, comprehensive work. Hopefully, Oxford...or someone with a sense of responsibility...will finish the final volume.

Should we sue Random House???

Spectacular work, but....It is now 7 years that I have been waiting for this dictionary to be completed. I am now hearing that the third and last volume may not see light at all. The mere thought that Random House has brought its customers into a stupid situation like this is shocking. Not only it's a huge disappointment to its customers, but it's also a great loss to American lexicography. Does Random House think that this fiasco can me mended in the not too distant future? May we readers and customers expect a reply from Random House? What the hell.

Volume three may never make it

According to a fascinating article in the Wall Street Journal by Jennifer Ordonez (Sept 7, 2000), this dictionary may never get beyond the letter O. Random House have stopped work on the editing because of the cost, and linguist J E Lighter has stopped delivering the text because of a row over royalties. Ambitious dictionaries don't make a profit for publishers, and Random House says it only commissioned a one volume work originally, way back in 1984. But it has made some money. The article points out that the cult best-seller "The F-Word" is in fact an extraction of a single entry from volume 1 - published under project editor Jesse Sheidlower's name after Lighter refused to have his name used. One of the reasons Lighter has stopped giving material to Random House, says the article, is that he's worried they'll try and do the same thing with "the S-Word" and he doesn't want to be remembered as the F and S guy. You can read the whole article at wsj.com if you have a subscription.

A lot of great slang starts with A through G!

This is by far the most satisfying slang dictionary I've ever seen. The entries include obscure words and phrases that most people have never heard of, as well as common terms with all their subtle shades of meaning. For example, f*ck ("usually considered vulgar") exists as virtually every part of speech, and several pages are devoted solely to it. Definitions are straight forward, but the best part of the dictionary is the extensive usage quotes, given in chronological order. I also have volume II (H-O); it is just as good. I eagerly await volume III.