Dent's Modern Tribes

Product Description

jack brew (Army) making yourself a cuppa without making one for anyone else.

bert (trainspotter) someone who sees trains simply as a way of getting from A to B.

VIP (A&E doctor) Very Intoxicated Person.

Kate Moss (golfer) a shot that's a bit thin.

little brown job (twitcher) any bird that can't be wholly identified.

disco rice (bin men) maggots.

crotch watch (flight attendant) the seatbelt check.

Have you ever wondered why football managers all speak the same way, what a cabbie calls the Houses of Parliament, or how ticket inspectors discreetly request back-up? We are surrounded by hundreds of tribes, each speaking their own distinct slanguage of colourful words, jokes and phrases, honed through years of conversations on the battlefield, in A&E, backstage, or at ten-thousand feet in the air. Here, at last, is a witty guide through the linguistic minefields that confront us all.

Susie Dent has spent years interviewing hundreds of professionals, hobbyists and enthusiasts; the result is an idiosyncratic phrasebook like no other. From the Freemason's handshake to the publican's banter, DENT'S MODERN TRIBES takes us on a whirlwind tour of Britain, revealing its secret languages and finding out in the process what really makes us tick.jack brew (Army) making yourself a cuppa without making one for anyone else.

bert (trainspotter) someone who sees trains simply as a way of getting from A to B.

VIP (A&E doctor) Very Intoxicated Person.

Kate Moss (golfer) a shot that's a bit thin.

little brown job (twitcher) any bird that can't be wholly identified.

disco rice (bin men) maggots.

crotch watch (flight attendant) the seatbelt check.

Have you ever wondered why football managers all speak the same way, what a cabbie calls the Houses of Parliament, or how ticket inspectors discreetly request back-up? We are surrounded by hundreds of tribes, each speaking their own distinct slanguage of colourful words, jokes and phrases, honed through years of conversations on the battlefield, in A&E, backstage, or at ten-thousand feet in the air. Here, at last, is a witty guide through the linguistic minefields that confront us all.

Susie Dent has spent years interviewing hundreds of professionals, hobbyists and enthusiasts; the result is an idiosyncratic phrasebook like no other. From the Freemason's handshake to the publican's banter, DENT'S MODERN TRIBES takes us on a whirlwind tour of Britain, revealing its secret languages and finding out in the process what really makes us tick.
Susie Dent is the resident word expert in Dictionary Corner on C4's Countdown and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. She comments regularly on TV and radio on words in the news, and has contributed to Woman's Hour, 15 x 15, Word of Mouth, More or Less, Today, BBC Breakfast, and R4's Wordaholics.. Susie is the author of several books, and has weekly columns in both the Radio Times and the website Mental Floss.