Kid Creole and the Cocoanuts were quite a bit noise in
Britain when I were a lad. They had three or four top ten
hits on the trot (I am guessing from memory). But to a person
of my age they would mean something. The dole, more usually
the Jam (Jam roll - or ham or whatever you put in your roll),
sometimes the Rock and Roll as well. Jack and Danny I have no
idea on. Slang usually translates itself if you are meant to
get it. It is, of course, very time and place specific. The
UK is because of its size more homogenuous than the UK but a
lot of slang references will be in jokes - something UK
writers under the thrall of Elroy and his time and place
specific fiction have gone too far with and become too self
referential with, I think. For example to the people I
know
"Chinny chin chin you gave her a right tuning till she ramped
like a burner", would to most of the people of my age, class
and interests mean (and I have been on the end of similar
sentences from people from completely separate areas of the
country - our national television plays a large part in this
I think). Well anyway, now to translate: I don't believe that
you mocked her until she went really crazy with you There you
go. Americanisms are more universal than any and slang is
lovely, but, yes I have struggled with some and I think it is
a particularly british disease to use slang (in fiction) as
an excluding device. All the best Colin
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