SWINGING SYLLABLES

Kimbrough, Thomas C.

Published by Kimbrough Publishing, Memphis, TN, 1959

About this Item

12mo. (14cm); original printed wrappers, stapled; [40]pp; illus. Light wear along the spine-fold, faint foxing and one moisture stain to rear cover, though contents remain fresh; Very Good+ to Near Fine. The first full-length beatnik dictionary, covering 166 beat, hipster, and drug-related terms, coupled with black and white cartoon illustrations throughout, and a few terminal leaves to "Add your own" lingo. Swinging Syllables was the brainchild of Thomas Charles Kimbrough (1937-2021), late of Memphis, Tennessee, who seems to have started out as a hip entrepreneur but ended up a real estate developer. If his obituary is to be believed, the dictionary sold over a million copies, sold by mail order and advertised in magazines like Ebony and Playboy. Two piracies were produced within the year of publication the Beatnik Dictionary, and a revised and expanded edition titled Beat Talk. An elusive volume; OCLC notes 5 holdings (Northern Illinois, Kinsey Institute, Memphis Public, Ransom Center, BL). Partridge, The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English, p.1103. Seller Inventory # 7207

Bibliographic Details

Title: SWINGING SYLLABLES

Publisher: Kimbrough Publishing, Memphis, TN

Publication Date: 1959

Edition: First Edition.