The vulgar tongueJonathon Green
The vulgar tongue
by Jonathon Green · first published 2015
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3HN commenters
2018–2021first – last mentioned
33% recommend67% neutral
"The Vulgar Tongue tells the full story of English language slang, from its origins in early British beggar books to its spread in American and Australian culture in the eighteenth century"-- Tells the full story of English language slang, from its origins in early British beggar books to its spread in American and Australian culture in the eighteenth century. The aim is not to record the history of the over 125,000 English words that make up the lexis. Rather, the author focuses on the common, often profane themes that run through the word-list--crime, sex, bodily parts and functions, insult
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Can't upvote this enough; it's a great podcast. If this seems just a little too esoteric, might I appeal to everybody's prurient side and recommend Chaucer's Vulgar Tongue [0] as a gateway episode? [0] https://historyofenglishpodcast.com/2019/09/25/episode-129-c...
on “Great Vowel Shift” ↗…don't know if you realise it or not but "PITA" is almost the perfect expression to use for networking equipment by the name of "Arris": " Jonathon Green, a British slang lexicographer who authored The Vulgar Tongue: Green's History of Slang, told me that his favorite rhyming slang word is "arris," which means ass, because it actually goes through more than one round of partially-dropped rhyming. "Arris," he said,…
on “Netgear Firmware Requires Online Registration” ↗…edition for the most part. On the nightstand: - Annals of the Former World by John McPhee 300 pages into it, but I got a bit tired of the redundancy inherent in combining multiple books into one. - The Vulgar Tongue by Jonathon Green. 40 pages in. I've been looking for a copy of the dictionary. - The Path to the Nest of Spiders by Italo Calvino.
on “Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?” ↗