Tag: Oxford Word of the Month
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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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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,…
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Oxford Word of the Month – August: Tip turkey
tip turkey – noun: the white ibis, Threskiornis moluccus, often regarded as a pest in urban areas because of its scavenging at tips, etc. The Australian white ibis, Threskiornis moluccus, is widespread across Australia, and naturally inhabits wetlands where it feeds on small invertebrates, especially crustaceans. As part of the ibis family the white ibis…
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Oxford Word of the Month – July: Hoon operation
Hoon operation (also anti-hoon operation, hooning operation) – noun: a police campaign targeting dangerous drivers. A 2015 media release by the Queensland Police Service stated: Police are investigating after a vehicle allegedly evaded them and later crashed at Yatala following a targeted hoon operation late last night. (Australian Government News, 12 April) The term hoon…
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Oxford Word of the Month – December: Billzac
Billzac – noun: a typical Australian soldier. During the First World War a number of terms for the typical Australian soldier appeared. In the early stages of the war a name from the Boer War, Tommy Cornstalk, was revived and used, along with Tommy Colonial. After the landings at Anzac Cove in 1915, the term…
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Oxford Word of the Month: Kingswood country
The Australian car manufacturer Holden recently announced the impending closure of its operations in 2016, after sixty years of producing some of Australia’s favourite cars, including the original Holden sedan, the utility, the FJ series, the Monaro, the Commodore, and the Torana. Our attachment to the Holden brand is illustrated by the way one model,…