Non-Print Citations

[Jonathon Green]

Further to Thomas Paikeday's comments in "More on Jass".

Given the proliferation of slang in non-print contexts - e.g. hip-hop/rap
and other lyrics, TV and movie scripts, old music-hall (vaudeville) songs,
comic monologues - I happily garner citations from very source on offer.
(Indeed, while such predecessors as Eric Partridge, let alone earlier slang
collectors, were relatively limited as to sources, I suffer from glut). That
said, while for instance many records/CDs offer some form of lyric sheet I
find the simplest way is to access the artist and their lyrics via the
relevant Net site and extract material accordingly. The same thing works for
movie scripts, which are easier (and cheaper) to extract from the Net than
sitting jotting furious and invariably illegible notes in a dark cinema. It
is arguable, of course, that one committed to the Net this material too
becomes 'print', but I would maintain that in this case the Net is merely a
convenient medium, rather than a primary source.

With all that in mind, if anyone can tell me whether 'Ball of Fire' (the
1940s movie in which a number of professors set off in search of slang) has
been printed up, I would be grateful. I have searched a number of script
sites, but no luck so far.

Jonathon Green
Cassell Dictionary of Slang