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Chapter 7 - English Slang Dictionaries

from Part I - Issues in English Lexicography

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2020

By
Michael Adams
Edited by
Sarah Ogilvie
Sarah Ogilvie
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
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Summary

In keeping with its character as evasive and subversive language, slang is hard to define. Some see it as urban masculine vocabulary focused on sex, intoxication, and excretion; others as instrumentally valuable in the construction of in- and out-groups, or as a matter of style to facilitate fitting in and standing out. This chapter traces the history of slang dictionaries from the first slang dictionary of 1699, written by the semi-anonymous ‘B. E.’, to the work of other slang lexicographers throughout the centuries: Francis Grose, John Camden Hotten, John Stephen Farmer, William Ernest Henley, Eric Partridge, Jonathan Lighter, and Jonathan Green.

Keywords

slangcantB. E.Francis GroseEric Partridgeflash languageJohn Camden HottenJohn Stephen FarmerWilliam Ernest HenleyJonathan GreenJonathan Lighter
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to English Dictionaries , pp. 75 - 86
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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