Slang Dictionaries

This book contains Two English slang dictionaries and one .by Ambrose Bierce. The focus is dictionaries of slang, or common usage of the English language.

The first work included in this volume is “The Slang Dictionary,” by John Camden Hotten. The work shows the state of slang in England in 1913.

The second work included in this volume is an older slang dictionary entitled “1811 Dictionary in the Vulgar Tongue.” The author of this work is Francis Grose. The reader interested in linguistics and language will enjoy tracing changes in usages between the first dictionary and this one.

The third dictionary included herein is “The Devil’s Dictionary,” which was written by Ambrose Bierce over a long period of time and finally concluded in 1906. While intended to be humorous, several of the definitions have made their way into popular usage.