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Teaching ESL

English-Specific Resources

Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
A historical dictionary, widely accepted as the most comprehensive record of the English language. Includes a word's various meanings and contemporaneous quotes highlighting changes in usage.

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs (2004)
The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms (1997)
The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (2013) by Tom Dalzell (Editor); Terry Victor (Editor)
Dictionary of Contemporary Slang (2007)
An Encyclopedia of Swearing : the social history of oaths, profanity, foul language, and ethnic slurs in the English-speaking world (2006) by Geoffrey Hughes

The Cambridge History of the English Language
Full-text online reference work in 6 volumes.