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A Dictionary of Slang, Cant, and Vulgar WordsJohn Camden Hotten

A Dictionary of Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words

by OpenStories

Original author: John Camden Hotten

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"A Dictionary of Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words" by John Camden Hotten is a dictionary published in 1859. This groundbreaking lexicon captures the vivid street language of Victorian London, from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge to the dens of St. Giles. Hotten documents criminal slang, back slang, and rhyming slang, arguing that slang represents "that evanescent, vulgar language, ever changing with fashion and taste." The work stands as the most important study of informal language since Francis Grose's 1785 dictionary.

A Dictionary of Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words, by John Camden Hotten. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #47018.

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12 Chapters

  1. 1.Preface: To the Second Edition360 words
  2. 2.Preface: To the First Edition (1)8,605 words
  3. 3.Preface: To the First Edition (2)8,923 words
  4. 4.Preface: To the First Edition (3)8,584 words
  5. 5.Preface: To the First Edition (4)8,493 words
  6. 6.Preface: To the First Edition (5)8,359 words
  1. 7.Preface: To the First Edition (6)2,540 words
  2. 8.Chapter M: B. COAT, i.e., Mark of the Beast, a name given to the long (1)8,445 words
  3. 9.Chapter M: B. COAT, i.e., Mark of the Beast, a name given to the long (2)8,486 words
  4. 10.Chapter M: B. COAT, i.e., Mark of the Beast, a name given to the long (3)8,385 words
  5. 11.Chapter M: B. COAT, i.e., Mark of the Beast, a name given to the long (4)524 words
  6. 12.Chapter I: SUPPOSE, the nose10,576 words