I’m continuing with the process of editing my 2nd children’s book. It follows on from The Clocker but, this time, focuses on Samantha. Nev and his dad, Ed are very much part of the story, Ed continuing to embarrass Nev with his misuse of slang.

As I was editing the other day, I came across a line I’d written: Nev’s dad’s slanguage was legendary. It made me pause to consider when the word slanguage had become part of our vocabulary.

Finding that the word wasn’t listed in my physical Oxford English Dictionary, I headed to Google and the online OED. I was surprised to find that the first known usage of the word slanguage was the 1860s, when it appeared in the Daily Telegraph London. The word is a blend of slang and language, hence slanguage. If you’ve read my children’s book, The Clocker, My Books you’ll be familiar with Nev’s dad’s mixed up slang words.