Overview

The language of crime has a long and venerable history in fact, the first dictionary of words specifically used by criminals, Hye-Way to the Spittel House, dates from as early as 1531. Jonathon Green is our national expert on slang, and in Talking Crooked he looks at 500 years of crooks and conmen, from the 'upright men' and 'counterfeit cranks' of the 16th century to the 'blaggers' and 'blingers' of the 21st. Not to mention a substantial detour behind bars for the world of prisons in Britain, the US and elsewhere, and, of course, the swag, the hideouts, the getaway vehicles and allied 'tools of the trade' and not forgetting the cops, the peelers, the fly cops and all the other varieties of the boys in blue. Arranged thematically, the book shows where particular words came from, how they have evolved and why they mean what they do. If you ve ever wondered when the police were first referred to as pigs (18th century), why trouble-makers became known as yobs (it s boy backwards), or how many terms there are for cocaine (53 at the last count), then this book has all the answers.

Full Product Details

9781847946287

Table of Contents

Reviews

Mr. Slang, aka Jonathon Green. --Martin Amis

Author Information

Jonathon Green is a writer and broadcaster and the nation's expert on slang. His Dictionary of Slang first appeared in 1998 to huge critical acclaim, and Green's Dictionary of Slang, his definitive three-volume work, was published in autumn 2010. He has written widely on slang and dictionary-making, notably Slang Down the Ages and Chasing the Sun, a history of lexicography. He has also chronicled the world of the 1960s in two oral histories- Days in the Life and All Dressed Up. He lives in London and Paris.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available