Tom Dalzell's Book in CHOICE

Fred Shapiro fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU
Thu Sep 14 18:35:38 UTC 2006


Choice Magazine, the leading review medium for academic libraries, has the
following in the current issue:

Partridge, Eric. The new Partridge dictionary of slang and unconventional
English, ed. by Tom Dalzell and Terry Victor. Routledge, 2006. 2v bibl
ISBN 0415212588, $175.00

In this new edition of Partridge's classic slang dictionary, first
published in 1937, the editors have succeeded in remaining true to the
Partridge tradition, observing high standards of lexicography while
producing an accessible work. This two-volume set is comprehensive in its
presentation of 65,000 slang words from the last 60 years -- the period
after World War II, a time of massive cultural changes that influenced and
reshaped language. Entries are alphabetically organized, including author
and source when known. In addition to being "unconventional," entries must
"impart a message beyond the text and literal meaning." Selected terms are
representative of the English-speaking world; Pidgin, Creolized English,
and borrowed foreign terms also appear, as well as colloquialisms,
acronyms, initialisms, vulgarisms, and catchphrases. Offensive words and
those considered slurs are available, but nicknames have been minimized
and geographic areas broadened. Numeric slang and a bibliography conclude
volume 2. Maintaining the integrity of the former editions and adding new
words representative of the 20th and 21st centuries, this dictionary will
be useful to a wide range of readers. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels.

Congratulations, Tom!

Fred Shapiro


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Fred R. Shapiro                             Editor
Associate Librarian for Collections and     YALE BOOK OF QUOTATIONS
   Access and Lecturer in Legal Research     Yale University Press,
Yale Law School                             forthcoming
e-mail: fred.shapiro at yale.edu               http://quotationdictionary.com
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