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"Slang is the language that rolls up its sleeves, spits on its hands,
and goes to work."
-Carl Sandburg
 | Americans created slang words for to express themselves. Before the middle
of the eighteenth century, slang was called "cant" and
"argot." Cant was the language that thieves and robbers used with
each other; argot was the language used by people in different occupations.
During the first part of the twentieth century, the popular, colorful and
sometimes irreverent language of a specific period or generation. Your task
is to learn about the slang of the past by doing one of the following:
 | Create a chart that shows representative slang of a period or that
compares slang words across the five decades of the Modern era. |
| Tape a conversation in which you use the slang of a period. |
| Design three T-shirts or three bumper stickers with slang in the
message. |
| Broadway shows are notorious for their use of slang. Choose a show;
watch the video, read the script, or see the live show; and make a list
of the slang you hear. Once you've completed the list, try to find the
metaphorical connection on which the slang word were based. |
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