Slang: The People's Poetry
- ISBN-10
- 0199986533
- ISBN-13
- 9780199986538
- Series
- Slang
- Category
- Social Science
- Pages
- 256
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2012-09-01
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Author
- Michael Adams
Description
Slang, writes Michael Adams, is poetry on the down low, and sometimes lowdown poetry on the down low, but rarely, if ever, merely lowdown. It is the poetry of everyday speech, the people's poetry, and it deserves attention as language playing on the cusp of art. In Slang: The People's Poetry, Adams covers this perennially interesting subject in a serious but highly engaging way, illuminating the fundamental question "What is Slang" and defending slang--and all forms of nonstandard English--as integral parts of the American language. Why is an expression like "bed head" lost in a lexical limbo, found neither in slang nor standard dictionaries? Why are snow-boarding terms such as "fakie," "goofy foot," "ollie" and "nollie" not considered slang? As he addresses these and other lexical curiosities, Adams reveals that slang is used in part to define groups, distinguishing those who are "down with it" from those who are "out of it." Slang is also a rebellion against the mainstream. It often irritates those who color within the lines--indeed, slang is meant to irritate, sometimes even to shock. But slang is also inventive language, both fun to make and fun to use. Rather than complain about slang as "bad" language, Adams urges us to celebrate slang's playful resistance to the commonplace and to see it as the expression of an innate human capacity, not only for language, but for poetry.
Get the book
Other editions
Similar books
-
American Slang 4e
By Barbara Ann Kipfer, Robert L. ChapmanLike previous editions, this edition features pronunciation guides, word origins, examples of appropriate usage as well as a helpful highlighting system that lets you know which terms should be used with caution, and never in polite company ...
-
Dictionary of American Slang, Third Edition: Completely Revised and Updated
By Robert L. ChapmanLike previous editions, this edition features pronunciation guides, word origins, examples of appropriate usage as well as a helpful highlighting system that lets you know which terms should be used with caution, and never in polite company ...
-
Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang
By John Ayto, John SimpsonR. FULLER I hope you'll forgive me crashing your excellent party (1953). 2 intr. ... R. CAMPBELL The Zulus naturally despise the creeping Jesus type who sucks up to them (1934). crew noun orig US In hip-hop subculture: a group of ...
-
Slang and Sociability: In-Group Language Among College Students
By Connie EbleClipping, 35-37 Coinage, 17-18, 25 Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 87 “College Slang and Phrases” (Babbitt), 133 College Words and Customs (Hall), 131 Colloquialism, 20 Coming of Age in New Jersey (Moffatt), 103-4 Compliments, ...
-
Urban Dictionary: Freshest Street Slang Defined
By Aaron Peckham, urbandictionary.comDefines common urban slang terms which were submitted to the Urban Dictionary website.
-
Cowboy Slang
By Edgar R. Potter, Edgar PotterThis is the fourth book of his columns. We lost Clay to the great beyond in April of 2018, but his Q&A writings live on. If you want to be the "smartest" person in the room, you need to read this book!
-
The Life of Slang
By Julie ColemanThis book traces the development of English slang from the earliest records to the latest tweet.
-
American Slang Dictionary, Fourth Edition
By Richard A. SpearsFor the 411 on American slang, this guidebook is the top banana From "head trip" to "foot in mouth," American Slang Dictionary gives you the complete definitions of thousands of uniquely American words and phrases, ranging from golden ...
-
Slang: To-Day and Yesterday
By Eric PartridgeAy, I vow, pretty roguest no pride in them in the world; but so courteous and familiar, as I'm an honest man, ... ne'er stir, I believe he would run down [outwit] the best scholar in Oxford, and put 'em in a mouse-hole with his wit.
-
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions: The Most Up-to-Date Reference for the Nonstandard Usage, Popular Jargon, and Vulgarisms...
By Richard A. SpearsMore bling for the buck! The #1 guide to American slang is now bigger, more up-to-date, and easier to use This new edition of McGraw-Hill’s Dictionary of American Slang and...