Abstract

Bruce Moore. Australian National Dictionary Centre, 1993. 488 pages. ISBN 0 67315 1377 0

This book documents many aspects of the language of male army cadets at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, Australia, in the period 1983 to 1985 (immediately prior to the creation in 1986 of the Australian Defence Force Academy, a tri-service academy which accepts both male and female cadets).

The book includes over 2000 terms. Many are Duntroon-specific, but the book also includes terms associated with the more general military life and with cadets' extra-military activities. The terms, their definitions, the extensive citations showing how the cadets themselves use these terms, and the scholarly and often witty analysis of all of the material combine to make this book a significant and entertaining contribution to our understanding of the Australian language.

NB Readers should be warned that this book contains many terms which may cause offence. There is also much sexually explicit language.