This volume investigates the evolution of slang and cant lexicography between 1937 and 1984, examining how global social upheaval influenced the documentation of unconventional English. Julie Coleman, a noted scholar in the history of lexicography, utilizes a vast array of dictionary entries and historical context to argue that slang serves as a primary indicator of cultural shifts. She analyzes how the breakdown of traditional communities and the rise of mass media during and after the Second World War provided fertile ground for linguistic innovation. The work establishes a framework for understanding how lexicographers captured the rapid expansion of informal language during a period of significant social mobility.

Experts recognize this volume as a definitive scholarly resource for the history of English lexicography. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the meticulous research required to track the development of informal language over nearly five decades.