Author:James Morton
An Aladdin's cave of criminal slang as spoken in the UK, America and Australia. If you're scratching or set tripping, if you're viper mad or coming heavy, if the ming are on the wing and you've no idea what any of this means, then you need Gangster Speak.
From the shocking to the ridiculous, Gangster Speak contains over 2,500 linguistic gems:
Ghosting - the practice of transferring a troublesome prisoner to another establishment during the night without warning
Hobbit - a prisoner who complies with or sucks up to the system
Put on armour - layer oneself with magazines to deflect knife wounds in a prison fight
Hooch - 'illicit liquor'
A Bernie - a victim who might be armed and prepared to use a weapon, after Bernard Goetz who killed a robber on the subway
Providing a useful guide to the nicknames of criminals, as well as fascinating word histories and multiple definitions for different uses of a word around the globe, with Gangster Speak you'll never be lost for words.
Gowers's main precepts are as sensible today as they were when he first presented them ... beneficial, intelligent and sympathetic
—— David CrystalRebecca Gowers has been charged with the task of producing a version which is true to the spirit of the original but adapted to the needs of the 21st century. She discharges this task with wit and delicacy
—— Stefan Collini , ProspectOver half a century after Plain Words was first published, its principles are as important as ever: say what you mean in the clearest possible fashion. Rebecca Gowers has done a great job ... superb
—— Caroline TaggartVastly informative and indispensable
—— Bill BrysonOne thing that makes Gowers such an engaging figure is that he isn't prissy, priggish or prim. As far as he is concerned, language is a living thing that is constantly changing - and this is just as it should be
—— Sunday TelegraphItself a model of how plain words should be used
—— TelegraphThe zeal with which Sir Ernest uncovers error is matched only by the wit with which he chastises it
—— Evening StandardThe great Sir Ernest Gowers ... the grand old boy himself
—— Lynne TrussI am glad that attention should be continually drawn to copies of this book ... I am in full sympathy with the doctrine laid down by Sir Ernest Gowers
—— Sir Winston ChurchillA small literary jewel
—— Evening NewsA delight, a classic of its kind
—— John o'London's WeeklyGreat fun to read
—— EconomistBrilliant
—— New StatesmanA sweetly reasonable and wholly admirable guide
—— The TimesIt will delight far wider circles than those to whom it is primarily addressed
—— ObserverCompelling
—— Clive Aslet , Country LifeA colourful treatment of a colourful life
—— LadyPersonal and affectionate tribute
—— Sally Morris , Daily MailAffectionate, familial tribute to this many-sided man.
—— The Catholic Herald
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