9th Grade English Class. Dan McNeill was a part of that project and has generously offered it here for our enjoyment. In this small dictionary we have attempted to collect and explain all of the major and minor slang words and phrases used at Hawthorne High School. This project was the culminating one in a study of the history of the English language and a consideration of the various approaches to compiling a dictionary.
Slang is, in a way, a language by itself.
A study of it reveals principles basic to all languages, including standard English. The fact that languages are constantly changing is particularly obvious when one considers slang. The slang of Spring 1965 is not the same as the slang of any other season of any other year. Also, the fact that there are regional variations in any language is made clear by a study of slang. H.H.S. slang is greatly influenced by surfers and surfing, a factor probably not as important in other parts of this country.