The Dictionary of New Words (Australian English in the 80s) picks up from the publication of the first Macquaire Dictionary in 1981, with over 3000 entries.
Much has happened in Australian English in the 80s. There are lots of new gadgets - CDs and lap-top computers, faxes and ATMs. There are new sports - windsurfing (or sailboard riding) and BMXs. There are new causes - animal rights and green movement. There are new diseases - AIDS and listeriosis, and new medical technology - in vitro fertilisation and gene shears.
American English has influenced us (we have acquired such terms as couch potato and blonde bimbo) as has British English (political wets and drys), but it is good to see that we are still capable of local invention.
Bottom-of-the-harbour scheme and Clayton`s (the x you have when you haven`t got an x) are among our best linguistic products of the 80s.
This book aims to be a record of all that is new - the best and the worst.