I HAVE the greatest respect for American slang so long as it is really slang. In so far as it is that normal popular habit of taking liberties with language, I think it is one of the most precious of that limited number of liberties which American citizens still have left. In so far as it is what is commonly called vulgar, I fully recognise that it is also vivid; it is full of pictures, like all popular traditions. For in every age the populace has been on the side of the image-makers and against the image-breakers. An image like that presented by the word "highbrow" is something that …