"URBAN DICTIONARY" BY AARON PECKHAM; ANDREWS MCMEEL, PAPERBACK, $12.95

The "Urban Dictionary" is not the first book to define the slang people use. So, does the world need another one?

THE ANSWER: FO' SHIZZLE! (THAT'S A BIG "YES.")

If 100 years from now people are expected to understand what a "metrosexual" was or what it meant to go "postal," they might need Aaron Peckham's "Urban Dictionary."

But some of us need a dictionary of urban slang today to understand the silly things we hear.

The book claims a judge in the United Kingdom used it in court to decode the meaning of rap lyrics.

Case in point. Without a reference guide to define our "slanguage," how can anyone not plugged into MTV know that any word ending with "izzle" is part of rapper Snoop Dogg's pig Latin for the hip-hop culture?

The "Urban Dictionary" is just a slice of its predecessor, www .urbandictionary.com, which boasts more than 250,000 slang words, all collected through reader submissions online.

Peckham was 18 when he created the Web site in 1999, and since then it has gone "off the heezy" — that is, the kids love it — in terms of reputation and scope.

In the introduction, Peckham calls his dictionary "a resource for parents trying to understand their kids, for language learners confused by real-world English — but most of all for your entertainment."

Peckham's definitions are all tied to funny example sentences. He gets "props" (that's an urban high-five) for his ability to entertain and make readers laugh, either through using potty-mouth words or by reminding us that "wardrobe malfunction" is, indeed, a term deserving definition.

But as entertaining as "Urban Dictionary" is, be warned that some of the 2,000 or so entries are far from urbane. Page after page is filled with words you wouldn't say around your mom.

Fortunately, it isn't bogged down with urbanisms and vulgarities alone.

Slang is changing at the speed of the Internet, and Peckham is among the first to write this stuff down: "Lol," computer shorthand for "laughing out loud"; and "Google-fu," the ability to quickly get answers to any question using the Google search engine (think kung fu).

The practical uses for the "Urban Dictionary" are questionable compared with a real dictionary. Maybe use it as a secret weapon in Scrabble?

The book is small, portable, and handy if you hit the streets of urban America and, like a tourist, have to ask for directions.