Presquawk this
A recent acquisition of mine is The Pocket Dictionary of American Slang first published in 1960 after the combined efforts of two gentlemen, Harold Wentworth and Stuart Berg Flexner. Here’s a taste:
- Baffle-gab: The ambiguous, verbose, and sometimes incomprehensible talk or writing often done by bureaucrats. Officialese.
- Boom boom: A bowel movement.
- Yatata yatata: Monotonous talk. Idle chatter. To talk idly and at length.
- Dude-heaver: A bouncer, doorman.
- Scram-bag: Suitcase packed in readiness for any necessary sudden departure.
- Cut a rusty: To show joy, to show off.
- Shiever: A double crosser.
- Schnook: A dope, a sap.
- Beewy: Money, especially coins or small change.
- Snollygoster: A politician who relies on oratory rather than ability or knowledge.
- Snoff: A weekend girlfriend.
- Snurge: To sneak away, especially to avoid work.
- Splifficated: Drunk.
- Solid Jackson: Great, wonderful, marvellous, to announce complete agreement.
- Uncle Dudley: Myself, me.
- Umpchay: A chump, a sucker, a dupe.
- Winkus: A wink, sign or spoken code word given as approval, warning or the like.
- Donkey roast: A large, elaborate, festive, or noisy party or celebration.
- Yentz: To cheat, to fleece.
- Zoftig: Plump in a sexually attractive or appealing way. Said of a woman.
- Schmendrick: A completely foolish, awkward, inept person.
- Zex! See also Cheese it! A warning or command to cease an improper activity in order to avoid detection.
- Zool: Anything attractive, well made, or satisfying.
- Charley goon: A police officer.
- Ookus; ooks: Money.
- Overland trout: Bacon. (Not common).
- Bitch-box:A public address loud speaker.
- Slut-lamp: A makeshift lamp, a container of grease or oil with a rag for a wick.
- On the shikker: A habitual drunkard.
- Your mother wears army boots! An exclamation of strong derision.
- Stillion: An indefinitely large number.
- Stewbum: An unemployed homeless street beggar, or hobo, who has reached this lowly position through alcoholism.
The forward describes the dictionary as “a pioneering work devoted to establishing a comprehensive reference book of the substandard level of American language”. An odd sentence. The back cover has a startling diagram detailing some of the “sub-groups” that generate this “substandard level” of language; the underworld, railroad workers, financial district employees, jazz musicians, hobos and tramps, students, immigrants and narcotic addicts, among others.
It’s an engrossing read and leaves one with the impression that Monsieur Wentworth and Mister Berg-Flexner may well have been smoking the same stuff as the fella who designed their book’s cover; a lurid red and yellow affair which looks like it was dipped in blood and smells of fungal infections.
On that note… there is still a pile of bubble-dancing to do before scrowling off for further vocabularisation.
Okay… so that last word was mine.
admin @ October 30, 2008