Why Slang Is More Revealing Than You May Realize

Jonathon Green is a scholar of slang, a man who has spent nearly 40 years treating a lowbrow subject with highbrow rigor. Surrounded by glutted bookshelves in his London flat, the 70-year-old can explain the mysterious machinations of etymology. He can also tell you a lot of words for "fart." In fact, a quick search of Green's database pulls up 84 such terms in just 0.002 seconds. There's air biscuit, trouser chuff and cheeser.

Jonathon Green is a scholar of slang, a man who has spent nearly 40 years treating a lowbrow subject with highbrow rigor. Surrounded by glutted bookshelves in his London flat, the 70-year-old can explain the mysterious machinations of etymology. He can also tell you a lot of words for "fart." In fact, a quick search of Green's database pulls up 84 such terms in just 0.002 seconds. There's air biscuit, trouser chuff and cheeser.