Acutely aware of the changes in English usage at the close of the Victorian era, the lexicographer James Redding Ware (1832-1909) decided to record for posterity new and archaic words and phrases from all walks of life, from the curses in common use...

Here is a real treat for lovers of English – the very first dictionary in our language. Contrary to popular opinion, this honour goes not to Samuel Johnson, whose definitive tome appeared in 1755, but to Robert Cawdrey, who published his "Table Alpha...