[11] Literary critic Edmund Wilson praised the dictionary, stating that the work "ought to be acquired by every reader who wants his library to have a sound lexicographical foundation".

[7] In 1985, John Gross of The New York Times called A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English "the nearest thing to a standard work in its field".

[7] In a 2002 review of the eighth edition, University College London Professor of English John Mullan argued that the "strength and weakness" of the dictionary was Partridge's "willingness to include his opinions [on word etymology] in what presented itself as a work of reference".

[9] However, Mullan also argued that by 2002 the dictionary entries were growing continually further out of date and out of touch with modern slang usages.

Dalzell and Victor were chosen by the publisher Routledge to update the Partridge dictionary;[4] this edition is, however, completely new and unrelated to the previous versions.