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  • The Cheaper the Crook, the Gaudier the Patter

  • Forgotten Hipster Lines, Tough Guy Talk, and Jive Gems
  • By: Alan Axelrod
  • Narrated by: Rod Tienken
  • Length: 4 hrs and 27 mins

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The Cheaper the Crook, the Gaudier the Patter

By: Alan Axelrod
Narrated by: Rod Tienken
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Editorial reviews

Opening with a delightful anecdote about a brigadier general's irreverent response to a Nazi demand for surrender during the Battle of the Bulge, this audiobook explores the rich vocabulary of gangsters, hipsters, jazz musicians, and GIs from the 1930s to the 1950s. Rod Tienken expertly deploys his resonant voice to add tough-guy authenticity to his narration of these linguistic gems while maintaining a bouncy pace through carefully-researched definitions, etymology, and witty examples of usage. This compendium of American eloquence and linguistic inventiveness is sure to leave smiles on listeners' faces.

Publisher's Summary

Calling all Dapper Dans and Oomph Girls - take a ride through the American lexicon at its most inventive.

The Cheaper the Crook, the Gaudier the Patter: Forgotten Hipster Lines, Tough Guy Talk, and Jive Gems explores the rich vocabulary of gangsters, hipsters, jazz musicians, and military personnel of the 1930s and ’40s. Entries include definitions, etymology, and examples of usage. This delightful compendium celebrates the linguistic gems cut and polished during the Great Depression, World War I, and the postwar '50s - now forgotten or in danger of being forgotten.

©2011 Alan Axelrod (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

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