Vulgar Tongues

February 27, 2017
Lovers of language will be engrossed by Décharné’s (Hardboiled Hollywood) excavation of the history of English-language slang. Based on his work, humans should be grateful for slang, or we wouldn’t have been able to discuss sex over the ages (without being persecuted). We’d have no limericks, certainly, and this book would be much shorter. (Aside for trivia fiends: if your English friends say they’re “discussing Uganda,” they’re almost assuredly not.) Décharné notes that the first English-language gay slang dictionary was published in the late 20th century, but he traces English slang terms for homosexuality as far back as the 18th century. Slang was, not surprisingly, ubiquitous in the criminal underworld, and there’s a vast array of terms for drunkenness and drug-taking. One wrinkle in the book: since the author is English, U.S. readers may stumble over a few obscure references. But there are also interesting peeks into Cockney rhyming slang, a “much quoted, and much misunderstood” form. Slang used to “come from the street,” but Décharné laments that it is now fighting against the “fake language” concocted by the PR industry, diluting slang’s gritty charm. If his dark predictions are true, this well-stocked and exhaustively researched compendium has arrived just in time to preserve the flavor of undiluted slang. Agent: George Lucas, InkWell Management.

April 1, 2017
From 17th-century cant to modern-day music slang, an erudite miscellany that tracks centuries of playful mutations endured by the English language.Chapters divide the book thematically with each covering one morsel of the slang lexicon, such as the Shakespearean "Beast with Two Backs" and its other naughty euphemisms. Decharne (Capital Crimes: Seven Centuries of London Life and Murder, 2012, etc.) boasts an impressive library of sources, such as Francis Grose's Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1785), and devotes the majority of his efforts to pinpointing the first printed occurrences of various words. These publications are valuable but inherently problematic, as a word's popular usage may not always line up with its first printed date. As the author writes, "the trouble with slang, and language generally, is that it doesn't stay still; meanings shift and mutate with the passing of time or the coming of new associations, and yesterday's plain speech can become today's double entendre." From Grose to Samuel Johnson, Decharne arranges a rich array of Georgian and Victorian vulgarity. Regarding the modern era, the author cedes a large portion of the book to popular music and its associated lingo, from the Beatles to N.W.A. These are some of the most inspired moments of the book, but they outweigh the historical sections and suggest that most slang as it is currently known began in a recording studio. While it's interesting to learn about the origins of band names like the Pogues and the Buzzcocks, one can't help but feel Decharne's career as a music writer seeping through as he inadvertently shows how thin the line is between etymological history and pop-culture trivia. The author sticks to his role as archivist and rarely gives his own thoughts on why people are drawn to slang: sociological analysis is often glossed over in an effort to delight with more strange words for R-rated things. His exhaustive research is at times exhausting and frequently reduced to mere lists of words and their definitions. Bawdy and jive, well-researched but underanalyzed.

COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from April 15, 2017

Songwriter, musician, and author Décharné gives a breathtaking history and overview of English slang as an ever-evolving language of "pop culture, street culture and secret society." Chapters cover everything from crime, prisons, drugs, sex, and alcohol, to war and politics. A close look at the history of "groovy" takes us from its status as an exclusive "in" 1940s jazz term to the mainstream, as Simon & Garfunkel are "feeling groovy" on their 1966 record album. From Middle English and Shakespeare to the Beat Generation and the age of technology, Décharné's insightful history explores how slang sometimes morphs from a private, hidden language to popular culture embraced by the masses. Accompanied by an extensive bibliography and detailed index, this volume is a useful addition to Michael Adams's recent In Praise of Profanity. VERDICT Along with collections focused on linguistics and the history of the English language, this well-written volume will be of interest to general readers and others curious about popular culture. Highly recommended.--Herbert E. Shapiro, Lifelong Learning Soc., Florida Atlantic Univ., Boca Raton

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.