Dictionary of Contemporary Slang compiled by Tony Thorne (Bloomsbury, £8.99 in UK)

This book has no craic

This book has no craic. There is, however, lots of crack, and the author wrongly associates an Irish sense of fun with this spelling. Elsewhere there is an education on offer for those who have lost touch with the argot of the street. Inevitably, given the American and British dominance of the popular arts, the bulk of the entries originate there and, of course, many are coarse and a product of "youf" culture. Unhappily, there is insufficient authoritative etymological research, and regional variations (as in our own) are poorly represented but Thorne's keen-eared comprehensiveness is mostly surefooted.