Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, Volume II, H-O (Vol 2)

Rating:
Summary: Good definitions, OK etymology
Review: I am an avid collector of dictionaries, and this is one of my favorites. It is an invauable reference, and fun to browse. The definitions are clear and, from my experience, accurate. The attempt to find the earliest references is impressive -- certainly the best of its kind, but it is not 100% accurate. No work of this type, which breaks much new ground and works so often from primary sources, could be completely accurate, but it it provides an invaluable foundation for future slang etymology. A truly awesome work. I check back monthly for volume III.

Rating:
Summary: Incomplete - what a shame!
Review: I am just a Chemist and not into the language academic field at all. Also from abroad. But this project of compiling the American slang is so much a part of American culture that I do not understand why anybody finances vol. 3. Even the present government should do it. The existing two volumes are not just a dictionary; reading them is more like going through a novel. I enjoy them although incomplete.

Rating:
Summary: Volume III ???
Review: I think by the time volume III is published (if ever), volumes I and II will be obsolete and out of print. I suckered myself into thinking all three volumes were in print when I bought the first two. This baloney about volume III has been going on since 1997. The set is worthless without volume III and don't even deserve the one star I gave it. I think Random House did not do us any favors by publishing the dictionary before it was complete.

Rating:
Summary: Volume III ???
Review: I think by the time volume III is published (if ever), volumes I and II will be obsolete and out of print. I suckered myself into thinking all three volumes were in print when I bought the first two. This baloney about volume III has been going on since 1997. The set is worthless without volume III and don't even deserve the one star I gave it. I think Random House did not do us any favors by publishing the dictionary before it was complete.

Rating:
Summary: For the reference junkie and the curious.
Review: Someone at work used the term "jamoke", and we all scrambled to determine it's meaning. This provided the answer, after many other dictionarys had yielded nothing. Impressive work.

Rating:
Summary: Don't despair - Volumes 3 &4 should eventually appear
Review: The Oxford University Press has picked up sponsorship of this project from Random House and hopes to release Volume III (P- partial S) in 2006 and Volume IV (remainder S - Z) in 2008.

In the meantime we have Volumes I & II to enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Is the wait coming to an end?
Review: This is an indispensible book for writers and for anyone who loves words, but only if you're looking for something from A to O, since Random House dumped the project. Hope may be on the horizon, though. As reported in William Safire's On Lanuguage column (NYT Mag. 6/29/03), the National Endowment for the Humanities came up with a grant of $325,000 over two years to keep J.E. Lighter's project going, and Oxford University Press picked up the challenge. Oxford is now working out the contract details with Random House.

Rating:
Summary: Is the wait coming to an end?
Review: Volumes I and II comprise an impressive, indispensable reference for writers, word junkies, and the just plain curious. But where the devil is the danged, long-over Volume III!? There's lots of slang after the letter O. This outstanding reference, unfortunately, is still imcomplete. The publishers ought to be ashamed of themselves for getting us hooked, and then not delivering on the promised final volume.

Rating:
Summary: SNAFU AT RANDOM HOUSE
Review: Yes, a big SNAFU took place at Random House. In the unlikely case you guys don't know what SNAFU means, you could always look it up in the Random House Dictionary of American Slang. Unfortunately the third volume (containing entries under S) has not yet been published, so you must ask a learned fried to find out what the meaning of this expression is. But if you already own the first two volumes you are likely to be as disappointed (mild euphemism) as I am. Can anybody (maybe Random House itself?) tell or predict if and when the third volume will be published?
Men, this story is a true pain where you don't tell the ladies.

Rating:
Summary: SNAFU AT RANDOM HOUSE
Review: Yes, a big SNAFU took place at Random House. In the unlikely case you guys don't know what SNAFU means, you could always look it up in the Random House Dictionary of American Slang. Unfortunately the third volume (containing entries under S) has not yet been published, so you must ask a learned fried to find out what the meaning of this expression is. But if you already own the first two volumes you are likely to be as disappointed (mild euphemism) as I am. Can anybody (maybe Random House itself?) tell or predict if and when the third volume will be published?
Men, this story is a true pain where you don't tell the ladies.