1 (i-xviii) front matter 10/9/03 8:52 AM Page i NTC’s Thematic Dictionary of American Slang This page intentionally left blank. 1 (i-xviii) front matter 10/9/03 8:52 AM Page iii NTC’s Thematic Dictionary of American Slang Richard A. Spears, Ph.D. ebook_copyright 6x9.qxd 10/9/03 10:24 AM Page 1 Copyright ©1998 by NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. 0-07-143410-0 The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: 0-8442-0833-7. All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. 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DOI: 10.1036/0071434100 DOI Page 6x9 10/2/02 1:33 PM Page 1 Want to learn more? , We hope you enjoy this McGraw-Hill eBook! If you d like more information about this book, its author, or related books and websites, please click here. 1 (i-xviii) front matter 10/9/03 8:52 AM Page v For more information about this title, click here. Contents About This Dictionary vii Terms and Symbols ix List of Themes xi Thematic Dictionary of American Slang 1 Index of Slang and Colloquial Expressions 453 Copyright 1998 by NTC Contrmporary Publishing Group, Inc. Click Here for Terms of Use. This page intentionally left blank. 1 (i-xviii) front matter 10/9/03 8:52 AM Page vii About This Dictionary This dictionary is a collection of slang and colloquial expressions in frequent use in the United States in the twentieth century. It con- tains expressions that are familiar to many Americans and other expressions that are used primarily within small groups of people. The entries represent the language of the underworld, the nursery, the college campus, California beaches, urban back streets, and Wall Street. We hear from prisoners, surfers, junkies, Valley Girls, blacks, weight lifters, surfers, and just plain folks. Fad words, metaphors, wordplay, and various figures of speech make up the body of the dictionary. The slang and colloquial expressions in this dictionary are arranged according to theme. There is a list of themes on page xi. Writers and students seeking a slang or colloquial manner of express- ing something can easily find likely candidates by using the themes to locate a selection of expressions. There is an index on page 453 that allows the user to find a par- ticular slang or colloquial expression by showing the theme under which the expression is listed. vii Copyright 1998 by NTC Contrmporary Publishing Group, Inc. Click Here for Terms of Use. This page intentionally left blank.