Tag: australian national dictionary centre
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Oxford Word of the Month – March: Bush politician
noun: 1. a person regarded as a ‘know-it-all’. 2. a politician from a rural area of Australia and seen to represent rural values and interests. THE STORY BEHIND THE WORD OF THE MONTH In Australia, bush has been the most significant term in describing the Australian landscape. Bush and the meanings that have accrued to…
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Oxford Word of the Month – February: Field day
noun: (in rural areas) a day set aside for the display and demonstration of new machinery and farming equipment; a day organised for the discussion of specific agricultural problems, innovations, and techniques. THE STORY BEHIND THE WORD OF THE MONTH Field days in Australia began in the 1890s as an educational service for farmers. The…
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Oxford Word of the Month – January: Australian tea
noun: a social fundraising event that usually includes the sale and purchase of donated items. THE STORY BEHIND THE WORD OF THE MONTH In 1915, the newspaper Nhill Free Press gave notice of a social event soon to take place: On Thursday, July 29th, a function to be called an ‘Australian Tea’ will be held in…
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Oxford’s Australian Words of 2015
Each year the ANDC selects a Word of the Year. The words chosen for the shortlist are not necessarily new, or exclusively Australian, but are selected on the basis of having come to some prominence in the Australian social and cultural landscape during the year. Oxford Word of the Year – 2015: Sharing economy The Oxford…
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Sharing Economy – the term that defines 2015
Sharing economy v. An economic system based on sharing of access to goods, resources, and services, typically by means of the Internet. The term sharing economy has been named Australia’s 2015 word of the year. The Australian National Dictionary Centre, based at The Australian National University (ANU), selected sharing economy due to its increased prominence…
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Oxford Word of the Month – December: Humidicrib
noun: an incubator that monitors and controls warmth and humidity, in which premature babies are kept until they are able to survive outside it. THE STORY BEHIND THE WORD OF THE MONTH On 23 July 1946 the Wingham Chronicle announced an ‘order placed for a humidicrib—a new invention for helping the development of premature babies,…
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Oxford Word of the Month – November: Schmick up
verb: to smarten (something) up; to renovate (something); to improve (something) superficially. THE STORY BEHIND THE WORD OF THE MONTH Six years ago in a Word of the Month we reported on our research into the word schmick, an adjective meaning ‘stylish, excellent’. At the time we noted it had become very common in Australian…
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The long and the short of it
In this article, reproduced from our latest issue of Ozwords, Julia Robinson investigates Aussie terms for Chinese wonton soup and Chinese noodle soup. Recently we received this query from a Victorian reader: ‘I am writing to ask about the term “short soup”, as in the Chinese wonton soup. Other non-Australian speakers of English are unaware…