Oxford Australia Blog

Sharing our love of education, language, and books

Month: September 2016

  • The Oxford English Dictionary celebrates one hundred years of Roald Dahl.

    Last week marked the centenary of Roald Dahl’s birth and to celebrate, the Oxford English Dictionary has published a range of revised and newly drafted entries containing references to Roald Dahl’s writing in its latest update. The words included are recognisably ‘Dahlesque’ and while not all are coined by him, they have magical qualities that…

  • Words for pie (and why they’re all unappetising)

    The humble meat pie is as Aussie as it gets. The iconic fist-sized pastry is light, flaky and golden on the outside, and filled with piping hot minced meat and gravy on the inside – perfect as a frosty winter’s day meal at the footy or a cheap, tasty snack from the servo. In the…

  • Oxford Roald Dahl Dictionary

    To mark the centenary of Roald Dahl’s birth this week we are publishing the Oxford Roald Dahl Dictionary. Books including Matilda, The BFG, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Twits have inspired generations to play with language and make up words. Some Dahlesque words for your everyday: A word for the weekend… Hopscotchy – adjective…

  • Connecting with Law Short Film Competition 2016 Winners

    The Connecting with Law Short Film Competition is an annual event run by Oxford University Press Australia & New Zealand. It is open to all students enrolled in an Australian law degree and has proven itself to be unique way of encouraging Australian law students to connect with their field of study and contribute to…

  • Upcoming events for the Australian National Dictionary Second Edition

    To celebrate the publication of the second edition of the Australian National Dictionary, there will be events in Sydney and Melbourne this September. Starting on Thursday September 8 at 6 pm Abbey’s Bookshop in Sydney will be hosting an event with AND 2e editors Bruce Moore (former director of the Australian National Dictionary Centre) and Amanda Laugesen…

  • Oxford Word of the Month: September – hip-pocket nerve

    noun: an imaginary nerve that reacts whenever demands are made on one’s money (especially in contexts such as government proposals to increase taxes). THE STORY BEHIND THE WORD OF THE MONTH The first evidence of the term hip-pocket nerve occurs in a speech by Prime Minister Ben Chifley in 1947. In May of that year,…