h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

dude:

i would much appreciate learning which dictionary had dude as a castrated horse. if interested, you can see a sample of my dictionary at www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/1152

Actually, I hear the word "helluva" (hell of a) all the time, even on TV. The funny thing is, it can mean something bad or something good. Watching sports you might say, "Helluva play!" meaning he made a remarkably good play. Or you might come in from a thunderstorm and say "Helluva storm!" meaning it's a bad one. You might make this more clear by saying, "Helluva good play!" or "Helluva bad storm!" - I guess the common element is you're saying it's extreme.

As long as I'm here, I thought I'd toss in a word I noticed was missing from the slang dictionary. I was raised in the midwest, and there the word "Bubbler" means a drinking fountain. Although this was once a midwest only thing, I get the feeling more people now know what you mean by "bubbler" - even if they don't use it themselves.

And one question about what really counts as an entry in the slang dictionary - I noticed one posting in this forum was talking about how "pisser" would be "pissa" in Boston. Well, "car" is "ca" in Boston, but you could hardly list every word in the English language with a Boston accent as a being a slang word for the same thing! This would also be true for a southern accent or anything else. Would most of you consider "pissa" a separate slang word? Or just a different entry pronounced with an accent, not even worth mentioning?