Flappers 2 Rappers: American Youth Slang (Dover Books on Americana)

Few things remain constant from generation to generation, but one propensity that's always in vogue is the youthful joy of inventing slang (or as Gustavo Arriolo's spider said to the dog in "Gordo," "Cool expressions change with each generation, dog, dig?"). It's always entertaining to read up on slang, but Tom Dalzell heightens the interest by organizing the youth talk chronologically. Starting with college slang in the 1850s, where "to gorm" was to eat voraciously, Dalzell proceeds to the slang of the 1920s flappers, then devotes a chapter to each succeeding decade, right up to the "circle of death" (bad pizza) of the 1990s. With scholarly derivations and social history, Dalzell has put together a totally cuspy lexicon that's slammin' cool beans.