Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Interesting

Lost ‘A Clockwork Orange’ Dictionary Discovered By Archivists

Good find, droogs.

Credit: Open Culture

Ah, ‘A Clockwork Orange’ – probably the most challenging (and best) book I ever read in high school. And certainly one of the best films ever made. A standout feature of both book and film is, of course, the fictional language, Nadsat, influenced majorly by Russian. Now, a lost dictionary of Nadsat slang is lost no more. Real horrorshow.

With several hundred entries across letters A, B and Z, the dictionary remnants were discovered by archivists in a file held by the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, a staggering 45 years after the author’s death. A lexicographer specialising in slang is currently studying the entries, some of which you can feast your glazzies on below.

Abdabs (the screaming) – Fit of nerves, attack of delirium tremens, or other uncontrollable emotional crisis. Perhaps imitative of spasm of the jaw, with short, sharp screams.

Abdicate – In poker, to withdraw from the game, forfeiting all money or chips put in the pot.

Abfab – Obsolescent abbreviation of absolutely fabulous, used by Australian teenagers or ‘bodgies’.

Abortion – Anything ugly, ill-shapen, or generally detestable: ‘You look a right bloody abortion, dressed like that’; ‘a nasty little abortion of a film’ (Australian in origin).

Abyssinia – I’ll be seeing you. A valediction that started during the Italo-Abyssinian war. Obsolete, but so Joyceanly satisfying that it is sometimes hard to resist.

Abfab, indeed. A really great discovery – bravo, archivists.

Written By

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

Art

A literary sensation about the harsh realities of life and madness.

Music

Exploring the history of country and the people who make them

Interesting

Moken children can see underwater by dilating their pupils.

Culture

Women seem to dominate the publishing and consumer industry for the romance genre. Could there be a specific reason for this?

Copyright © 2022 Trill! Mag