Michael:
 
> Can anyone recommend a good dictionary of slang -- preferably one that
> would give good information on origins of expressions?
 
Do you have Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable?  (Ivor H.
Evans, Harper & Row  14th ed. 1989)  Maybe everybody in the world
knows about this one, but I found it just lately.  And it's fun!
 
Carolyn Kirkpatrick