"...broadly entertaining resource 'covers the waterfront' with 'lingo' and 'bits and bobs' from English-speaking countries, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, parts of the Caribbean, and the United States....features 70,000 words and phrases dating from the early 16th century to the present. Typical entries include parts of speech, etymology...time periods, geography, brief definitions...usage examples... occasional cross references. Entries such as 'nudnik'...'New York minute'...'La la Land'...and 'beam me up, Scotty'...will delight...readers. Libraries...will...want to purchase this resource because of its broader coverage and affordable price."-- Library Journal . This broadly entertaining resource "covers the waterfront" with "lingo" and "bits and bobs" from English-speaking countries, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, parts of the Caribbean, and the United States. It features 70,000 words and phrases dating from the early 16th century to the present. Typical entries include parts of speech, etymology (Yiddish, Standard English, and Old English), approximate time periods, geography, brief definitions, some usage examples, and occasional cross references. Entries such as "nudnik" (an insignificant person), "New York minute" (in an instant), "La-La Land" (Los Angeles or a fantasy world), and "beam me up, Scotty" (a desire to be elsewhere, an illicit drug mixture, or a catchphrase from the Star Trek series) will delight some readers. Although by definition slang can be vulgar and coarse, scatological, derogatory, and sexual terms seem to predominate here. This paperback edition corresponds to the previous hardback edition (LJ 5/1/99). Libraries that already own NTC's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions (LJ 6/00) or Oxford Dictionary of Slang (LJ 3/1/99) will still want to purchase this resource because of its broader coverage and affordable price.DElizabeth Connor, Medical Univ. of South Carolina Lib., Charleston Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. Jonathon Green is a writer and broadcaster with a particular interest in colloquial English and slang. His many credits include the Pan Dictionary of Modern Slang and Chasing the Sun: Dictionary-Makers and the Dictionaries They Made. He lives in north London (N7).