Slang is the language of pop culture, low culture, street culture,
underground movements and secret societies; depending on your point of
view, it is a badge of honor, a sign of identity or a dangerous assault
on the values of polite society. Of all the vocabularies available to
us, slang is the most alive, constantly evolving and--as it leaks into
the mainstream and is taken up by all of us--infusing the language with
a healthy dose of vitality.Witty, energetic and informative, Vulgar
Tongues traces the many routes of slang, beginning with the thieves and
prostitutes of Elizabethan London and ending with the present day, where
the centuries-old terms rap and hip-hop still survive, though their
meanings have changed. On the way we will meet Dr. Johnson, World War II
flying aces, pickpockets, schoolchildren, hardboiled private eyes,
carnival geeks and the many eccentric characters who have tried to
record slang throughout its checkered past.If you're curious about
flapdragons and ale passion, the changing meanings of punk and geek, or
how fly originated on the streets of eighteenth-century London and
square in Masonic lodges, this is the book for you.
