Vulgar tongues : an alternative history of English slang

Summary: Décharné traces the colorful history of slang, from Elizabethan highwaymen to the rap and hip-hop of today. He shows how meanings change over years; introduces us to flying aces, pickpockets, and carnival geeks who have left their impression on our language; and shows how slang leaks into the mainstream to infuse language with vitality.

Record details

ISBN: 9781681774640
ISBN: 168177464X
Physical Description: print
388 pages : 1 illustration ; 24 cm
Edition: First Pegasus books hardcover edition.
Publisher: New York, NY : Pegasus Books Ltd, [2017]
Copyright: ©2017

Content descriptions

General Note:	"June 2017"--Title page verso.
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (pages 339-357) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	Introduction : The mark of a decadent mind -- Slang origins : Vagabond speech and rogue's Latin -- The beast with two backs -- The oldest profession -- This bag of bones -- Polari missiles -- Here's to crime -- Tails you booze -- High as a kite -- Dig that sound -- It takes a record company with millions to push us forward -- Burn baby burn -- Uniform patterns of speech -- The last word.