The Latest Words alphaDictionary is constantly adding to its Historical Dictionary of American Slang. We now have over 2500 carefully selected, carefully researched words from English slang going back to 16th century England, slang that was brought to the Americas by our ancestors. Our Historical Dictionary of American Slang will tell you the meaning of a slang word, its grammatical category, give an example and the approximate decade in which it was introduced. You can search for a word, a meaning (look at all the ways we have said "leave" over the centuries), or a decade. Just type in the decade you are interested in (e.g. 1950) and the dictionary will tell you all the slang terms introduced during the 50s! You can also test your slang to see which decade it places you in with our Slinging Slang quiz.

Here are the 25 new slang terms added to our slang dictionary in the month of June 2008. Please contact us should you come across any slang terms you know that are not in our dictionary.

ballistic adj Out of control. Frieda went ballistic when she heard she was rejected from Harvard. 1980 dilly n Something excellent, outstanding. Lester Workwithe just bought a dilly of a car from 1910 doodad n Decorative article. Maybelle's house is full of fancy doodads she brought back from her world travels. 1900 Drat! int Interjection of frustration. Drat! I think I lost my lucky cat's foot! 1810 Drats! int Interjection of frustration. Drats! I just broke my watchband! 1820 druthers n Preference, choice. If I had my druthers, I would stay home tonight. 1880 duffer n An incompetent person. Les Fairway is just a duffer when it comes to golf. 1840 Egad! int Interjection of surprise. Egad! I didn't expect a clown at my birthday party! 1670 green adj Ecologically responsible. Management thinks our company is green because we use paper cups in the office. 2000 hang n Knack, understanding Hang! I just can't get the <i>hang</i> of tying my shoes. 1840 Hang! int Interjection of frustration or emphasis. Hang! I can eat six hotdogs in in 10 minutes. 1940 head n Bathroom, toilet. Hold the game, boys, I have to go to the head 1950 honkin adj Very, extremely. Lance Sterling has a honkin big condo in Scranton. 2000 hookey n Truancy. Maynard played hookey from school today and missed the quiz. 1840 hooky n Truancy. Maynard played hooky from school today and missed the quiz. 1840 juice n Electricity. Plug the mixer in and give it the juice. 1890 knucklehead n A stupid or foolish person That knucklehead can't read his own name without moving his lips! 1940 lame adj Bad, of poor quality. What a lame excuse! 1950 postal adj Out of control. Don't go postal, now, just because I stepped on your toe. 1990 pug-ugly adj Very ugly. Luella and her pug-ugly friend came to the party late. 1910 scad n Heap, large amount. I heard LaVerne has scads of money. 1860 shysty adj Slick, sly, or devious. That was really shysty of you to jack his dictionary. 1990 wiseacre n Someone who makes smart, saucy remarks. Don't be a wiseacre, Buzz, just get it done with no comment. 1590 wisenheimer n Someone who thinks he or she is smarter than others. Buzz is a wisenheimer who thinks he knows everything. 1900 yegg n Safe-cracker, a crook. Marvin hired some yegg to do his dirty work for him. 1900 Other Resources You Might Enjoy Historical Dictionary of American Slang You will certainly enjoy exploring the changes in US slang over the centuries in this alphaDictionary feature. Rebel-Yankee Test If you liked the dictionary, you would probably enjoy taking Rebel-Yankee Test as much as the 3 million people who have already taken it. Miss Spelling's Spelling Center You will find the solutions to all your spelling woes here, including a host of fun and funny quizlets to check your progress. Dr. Goodword's Language Blog Here is where Dr. Goodword shares his ideas about words and language. He welcomes your questions and comments. Discuss slang with others. Now you can talk with others about your accent and theirs. You might want to talk about other topics, too, at our Alpha Agora. So, What's the Good Word While you are here, check out our daily word-of-the-day feature. We select an interesting word and tell you all about it—how to say it, what it means, where it comes from, and how to use it. You can have it delivered to your email inbox daily, for free!