This dictionary is a collection of slang and colloquial expressions in frequent use in the United States in the twentieth century. It contains expressions that are familiar to many Americans and other expressions that are used primarily within small groups of people. The entries represent the language of the underworld, the nursery, the college campus, California beaches, urban back streets, and Wall Street. We hear from prisoners, surfers, junkies, Valley Girls, blacks, weight lifters, and just plain folks. Fad words, metaphors, wordplay, and various figures of speech make up the body of the dictionary.

Most of the world’s languages have phrases or sentences that cannot be understood literally. Even if you know all the words in a phrase and understand all the grammar of the phrase completely, the meaning may still be elusive. A phrase or sentence of this type is said to be idiomatic. Many proverbs, informal phrases, and common sayings are idiomatic, and offer special problems to readers, writers, and language learners. This dictionary is a collection of the idiomatic phrases and sentences that occur frequently in American English.

NTC’s Super-Mini English Dictionary is for persons who are seeking to improve their ability to speak, read, write, and understand American English. It is a small, portable dictionary that will help with spelling, pronunciation, part of speech, meaning, irregular forms, and the appropriate use of 8,200 senses of 7,600 common words. This dictionary defines words using the smallest possible vocabulary, but when necessary, uses additional words to define difficult concepts.

NTC’s Pocket Dictionary of Words and Phrases is for persons who are seeking to improve their ability to speak, read, write, and understand American English. It is a small, portable dictionary that will help learners with spelling, pronunciation, parts of speech, meaning, irregular forms, and the appropriate use of 12,000 common words and phrases. This dictionary defines words using the smallest possible vocabulary, but when it is necessary, additional words are used to define difficult concepts.