1-8-09 Bumping gums 1930s style
Posted by gavortnik on January 8, 2008
Those of you who know me know that I have an unhealthy fascination with the Great Depression and World War II. So imagine my delight when I found two sites (among many) devoted entirely to slang of the 1930s? Why try to be painfully hip when you can be painfully unhip? Tog your speech to the bricks and sound like a bruno today!
The Dirty 30s: Looks like a gamer site, and the slang sounds like it’s straight outta a second-team Phillip Marlowe novel. But I’m not an expert; for all I know, people talked like James Cagney back then. I doubt it, but maybe they did. Lots of resources under what else? “Resources“.
http://www.paper-dragon.com/1939/slang.html
Alphabetical Slang Dictionary
More scholarly and with more jazz and literary slang, but laid out a trifle odd: you have to click on the word to get a definition. Go with Dirty 30s if you’re pressed for time or if you just want to sound like Edward G. Robinson.
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA04/hess/Slang/slangmenu2.html
