Dictionary of Afro-American Slang

Clarence Major

Dictionary of Afro-American Slang

New York

International Pubs.

1970

Linguists began to take African American speech seriously in the early 20th century, but it took until 1970 to get a book-length dictionary. Poet and novelist Clarence Major took many words from jazz (offbeat). Some are joyous (hot dog!) and some playful (cute suit with the loop droop), but Major doesn’t shy away from “prison slang, the jargon arising out of the drug scene, prostitute and pimp parlance, the gambling and numbers racket lingo.” 

Ex coll. Jack Lynch. HHD no. 118