This, juxtaposed to the scholarly book just reviewed, illustrates the law of opposites. The two have in common the publisher and the fact that they are word lists with explanations; this is all. The author of this one is indicated as President of the American Society of Grammatolators and Chairman, National Association on Standard Medical Vocabulary. The reviewer is not acquainted with either organization. He assumes, from the title page, that they exist. After examining this book it seems possible or appropriate that the chief executive may constitute the entire membership of both.
One would expect, under this title, something like Partridge's informative and amusing slang dictionaries and in a medical rather than nonmedical context. But this book is neither informative nor amusing. The compiler's risibility and interest are only stirred by the grossest terms, most of them fortunately fusty and out of date. One suspects that many of them—if