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Language Quote by Susie Dent

“The earliest dictionaries were collections of criminal slang, swapped amongst ne'er-do-wells as a means of evading the authorities or indeed any outsider who might threaten the trade.” quote by Susie Dent — Download Open image

“The earliest dictionaries were collections of criminal slang, swapped amongst ne'er-do-wells as a means of evading the authorities or indeed any outsider who might threaten the trade.”

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Criminal Slang Earliest Dictionaries Evading Authorities Language Outsider Outsider Threaten Slang Slang Swapped Threaten Trade Who

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English has always been a mongrel tongue, snapping up words from every continent its speakers encountered.

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The one thing - apart from assumptions about German - that I have to challenge frequently is people assuming that lexicographers are fierce protectors…

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The character of our language defines us, and dictionaries say as much about us as about the way we speak.

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