Partridge wrote widely on matters concerning the English language. He did not, by any means, restrict his interest to matters slang and unconventional; however, it is his work in this area that had, and continues to have, the greatest impact, and on which his reputation is most celebrated. He wrote more than forty books in his lifetime, considering such diverse topics as abbreviations, American tramp and underworld slang, British and American English since 1900, comic alphabets, English and American Christian names, Shakespeare's bawdy, usage and abusage, and he contributed to many, many more. It is so substantial a body. | fence-to-fence fielder 248 fence-to-fence adjective in carnivalusage in control of all the activities in an engagement us 1986 fencing noun a trade in or the act of dealing in stolen property uk 1962 fender noun a new employee. Like a fender absorbing the impact of a collision the new employee absorbs the wrath of the supervisor US 1966 fender bender noun a minor car accident us 1962 fenderhead noun a dolt us 1976 Fenian noun an Irish catholic. From the American-Irish brotherhood for the support of the revolutionary overthrow of the English government in Ireland uk 2000 fen-phen noun a combination of fenfluramine and phentermine used as a diet drug and or centralnervous system stimulant us 1996 feral noun a person holding strong environmentalist views and living an alternative lifestyle Australia 1994 feral adjective 1 aggressive wild Australia 1994. 2 living a low-technology alternative environmentally-friendly lifestyle Australia 1994 ferdutzt adjective among Nova Scotians of German descent used to describe someone who is confused Canada 1999 fe real for real adjective adverb genuine honestly genuinely credibly US 1966 fern noun a female s pubic hair us 1981 ferret noun 1 the penis. A celebration of the animal s talent for exploring holes Australia 1971. 2 a member of the security services engaged to sweep for and remove electronic bugging devices uk 1977. 3 a beret RoyalAir Force use a deliberately poor rhyme uk 2002. give the ferret a run of a male to engage in sexual intercourse. Also variant exercise the ferret Australia 1968 ferry dust noun heroin. A play on magical fairy dust uk 1998 ferschlugginer adjective used as a mildly profane intensifier. A Yiddish term us 1966 fer shur fur shur adverb certainly. A staple of the Valley Girllexicon often used as an exclamation us 1982 ferstay verb to understand Canada 1987 fertilize verb fertilize the vegetables to feed or medicate neurologically depressed hospital patients us 1986 fess fess up verb to confess us 1840
