I bought this Dictionary because I love words, their origins, their correct use, their misuse, their ambiguity (at times) and the fact that there is always one to describe what you're seeing or thinking or doing or thinking of doing, or have done, or will do. Jonathan Green, with the input of many others, has documented thousands of wonderful slang words used by all manner of people all over the world, and done a fantastic job of it. I'm sure he'll be the first to admit that there are many, many others (I looked for several words and phrases that weren't there) but he should be very proud of this Sisyphean achievement. These tomes are a scholarly, interesting and educational, and frankly just plain fun read. Just pick one up and open it at random. Hard to put down, many entries will bring a smile. As a Kiwi, I was thrilled to find the word 'wopcacker' had been included, but disappointed to find it initially attributed as Australian. I forgive Mr Green this transgression given the tiring late nights he must've beavered to put together such a work of art.

Just about everything. The citations, dates, layout, fonts, paper size and quality, binding.... Such great fun to browse.

The set I got is published by Chambers (2010), not Oxford (2011) as advertised here. Maybe Oxford is issuing it too. But I just love the Chambers style.

Clocking in at 6000 pages (and in small type at that) this is surely the biggest slang dictionary ever compiled. Yet there are some reasons to fear that quantity has triumphed over quality. For example, the entry on "gay" suggests that the meaning "homosexual" may have stemmed from 16th-century French "gaie." This claim is preposterous, for no such meaning for the French adjective has been documented prior to the introduction of the term from the anglophone sphere in the 20th century. The attribution stems from the "Lavender Lexicon" by an enthusiastic California scholar, the late Bruce Rodgers. His book abounds in nonce coinages--that is, words and definitions of words made up by particular individuals of Rodger's acquaintance. To be sure, the popularity of the book may have put some of these gems into circulation afterwards. If so, however, there acceptance should have been documented by another citation. Such is often lacking in the Green work, so that a misleading impression is conveyed. One cannot help wondering also whether some ephemeral words collected on particular US college campuses enjoy any real circulation. Prison usage presents similar problems.

Perusing this set provides real pleasures, but it is not authoritative in the way that, say, Lighter's work on American slang actually is.

these are amazingly imformationdense and huge. gives you a real feel for the vastnes of slang and language in general. love leaving through them every now and then.

👍👍👍excellent dictionary of slang!the fullest one.everyone who is interested in slang and nonstandard language should buy it!remarkable work of the author!