Tag: Dictionaries
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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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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 Festive Gift Guide for Adults
Need some help with your Christmas shopping this year? We’ve got you covered. ‘Tis the season for gift guides, so we have selected a variety of titles to help you buy for all of the foodies, history buffs, marketers and word nerds in your life. Books make the best gifts so take advantage of our…
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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…
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Oxford Word of the Month – October: Flagfall
flagfall – noun: 1 An initial minimum hiring charge for a taxi, as part of the overall fare. 2 A fixed initial charge incurred when making a call on a mobile phone. Today mobile phone charges in Australia may include a flagfall fee—a fixed amount that is part of the cost of the call. The…
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Oxford Word of the Month – September: CUB
CUB – noun: an affluent bogan. In an article in the Australian newspaper under the headline ‘Bogan is not a dirty word’, Terry Barnes wrote about the people who live in his south-east Melbourne suburb of Patterson Lakes: ‘Patto’s’ culture is dominated by so-called cashed-up bogans (CUBs), people mostly educated in the University of Life,…