Language & Literature

The Oxford English Dictionary is the ultimate authority on the usage and meaning of English words and phrases, and a fascinating guide to the evolution of our language. It traces the usage, meaning and history of words from 1150 AD to the present day. No dictionary of any language approaches the OED in thoroughness, authority, and wealth of linguistic information. The OED defines over half a million words, and includes almost 2.4 million illustrative quotations, providing an invaluable record of English throughout the centuries. The 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary is the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium.

How do Americans really talk--what are their hometown, everyday expressions in the many regions and sections of this huge country? The Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE), twenty years in preparation, answers these questions. It gives visible proof of the diversity--and the vitality--of American folk language, past and present. DARE includes thousands of words and phrases not found in conventional dictionaries, and out-of-the-way meanings for common terms. Here are local names for familiar objects, from old cars to frying pans to dust-balls under the bed (176 names for these); for plants, animals, and critters real and imaginary; for rainstorms and heat waves; for foods, clothing, children's games and adults' pastimes; for illnesses and traditional remedies. Here are terms--salty, sarcastic, humorous--by which people describe each other, their physical appearance, characters, emotions, states of mind.

The only historical dictionary of slang -- spanning three hundred years of slang use in America.

This handy guide contains 2,400 entries representing the most current general slang expressions used in the United States today. Entries have real-world example sentences that illustrate usage. Includes helpful cross-references and a Hidden-Word Index.