A Dictionary of Australian Underworld Slang by Simes

A Dictionary of Australian Underworld Slang

Author: Simes, Gary

Publisher: Oxford University Press | 1993

ISBN: 9780195534993

Format: Hardcover

Edition: Later Printing

Condition: Good

A comprehensive and scholarly exploration into the unique lexicon of Australia's criminal underworld, edited by Gary Simes. This hardcover volume is offered in good condition, without a dust jacket. It is a later printing, not a first edition.

"A Dictionary of Australian Underworld Slang" compiles two significant, previously unpublished glossaries of Australian prison and underworld slang from the 1940s and 1950s. The first glossary was meticulously compiled in 1944 by Ted Hartley, a conscientious objector whose political beliefs led to imprisonment. Following his release, novelist Kylie Tennant commissioned him to produce this glossary to aid her in writing a novel about prisoners. This invaluable historical document lay forgotten in the National Library until its fortunate rediscovery by Dr. Gary Simes.

The second glossary, known as 'The Argot', was compiled by an anonymous prisoner identified only as '35'. Although a revised edition by '35' in 1975 has not been located, Simes expertly combines these two primary sources. He then draws upon the extensive resources of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the Australian National Dictionary (AND), and his own formidable database of underworld and sexual language to contextualize these glossaries lexicographically and historically.

Adding further academic depth, Dr. Simes contributes a long and important introductory essay tracing the history of criminal literature from the Middle Ages to the present day. This work is an essential resource for linguists, criminologists, historians, and anyone interested in the social history and unique linguistic heritage of Australia.

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