Chapter 4

Big Top Productions—Circus Lingo: An interesting lingo site featuring jargon from the circus world. Odd and interesting, it provides a look into the richness of the English language.

Christian Cursing: A conservative Baptist minister designed this site. It challenges conventional notions on the appropriateness of using euphemisms when cursing. This site is interesting in how it takes a literal view of language.

Cockney Rhyming Slang: In this free online game visitors are asked to identify what different sayings mean. Answers are provided. This site is great fun and provides an introduction into a world of lingo unfamiliar to most people.

Doublespeak Awards/NCTE News: A summary of the 1998 Doublespeak Award winners. Each year, the National Council of Teachers of English selects egregious examples of doublespeak. Examples are provided.

Plain English Campaign: A site from the U.K. devoted to ridding the world of gobbledygook in legal papers, instructions, government documents, etc. This is an interesting look at those who demand clarity at all times.

A Prisoner’s Dictionary: This is a fascinating and extensive list of prison jargon. Many sites discussing lingo can be found on the Web. This is one of the more interesting ones; it is an excellent site for lexicon research or just idle curiosity. The list is comprehensive and informative.