Know someone with an antwacky stem-winder? Heard the Band of Hope Street? Ever been on a vinegar trip? Do you jangle? Ever met a Cunard yank in the Dingle? Could you pay for a dodger with a joey? Have you heard a maccyowler in a jigger?

The Liverpool English Dictionary records the rich vocabulary that has evolved over the past century and a half, as part of the complex, stratified, multi-faceted and changing culture of this singular city. With over 2,000 entries from 'Abbadabba' to 'Z-Cars', the roots/routes, meanings and histories of the words of Liverpool are presented in a concise, clear and accessible format.

Born and bred in Liverpool, Professor Tony Crowley has spent over thirty years compiling this bold and innovative dictionary, investigating historical lexicons, sociological studies, works of history, local newspapers, popular cultural representations, and, most importantly, the extensive 'lost' literature of the city.

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'Scouse' was in many respects a truly groundbreaking work, and now he's written another, the first scholarly dictionary of the language that has been used in Liverpool over the past century and a half. There have of course been collections of Liverpool words and phrases before, such as Fritz Spiegl's 'Lern Yerself Scouse' books. But Crowley's is the first attempt at a truly comprehensive glossary, using the same methodology as the Oxford English Dictionary. For each entry the book offers a definition, an account of the origin and history of the word or expression, and examples of its use from carefully cited sources. Time and again, he notes, his dictionary offers up evidence of creativity, humour, irreverence towards authority and a carnivalesque sense of the absurd.

Alan Gardiner, Merseysider Magazine