War Slang: American Fighting Words & Phrases from the Civil War to the Gulf War

Dickson -- the country's foremost authority on American slang & author of the critically acclaimed Slang! -- offers the first comprehensive collection of fighting words & phrases used by Americans at war. Arranged war by war, this definitive dictionary reveals military slang at its most colorful, innovative, brutal, & ironic -- & shows how language mirrors the unique experience of each war. Dickson's brief but carefully thought-out informal introductions to each section help define the flavor of the period. "An excellent compilation." "An A-1 blockbuster of a book." Recommended by William Safire in his New York Times Magazine column.