Tag archives: wordlist
Gutbucket, hamfatter, and chops: the language of jazz
Today is International Jazz Day and to celebrate we’ve delved into the language of this musical movement to bring you our favourite words and terms. From bebop to vocalese via the more unexpected gutbucket and hamfatter, you don’t need to be a jive-talking hepcat to enjoy the language associated with this popular musical genre. barrelhouse: [...]
All hail the superbike!
Congratulations to Carlos Checa, winner of Round 9 of this year’s Superbike World Championship held yesterday at Silverstone Circuit, a relatively short ride north from our base here in Oxford. If you are not a motorcyclist and you have never been to a race meeting, then the excitement and adrenaline generated by the spectacle may [...]
Brassies, bunkers, and bogeys: celebrating The Open
The game of golf has a long established history – the OED records the word as far back as 1457. From the moment when the first ball was addressed and the subsequent first putt was sunk, the English language has been enriched with golfing terms, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying word cloud. [...]
Anyone for tennis?
We are now well and truly into the first week of Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam event of the tennis calendar, and provided the weather holds, a feast of tennis beckons, with a plentiful supply of the traditional strawberries and cream of course. Keeping it real The modern game has its origins in real tennis, a [...]
Rulers and monarchs in ancient and modern times
The second Saturday in June sees the birthday parade of Queen Elizabeth II. This annual display of pomp and pageantry on London’s Horse Guards Parade is known as trooping the colour, and marks Her Majesty’s official birthday – while her real birthday is on 21 April. The Queen’s official birthday is celebrated in many Commonwealth [...]
A penny for your thoughts …
According to some, today is ‘Lucky Penny Day’. The OED describes a ‘lucky penny’ as usually one that is bent or perforated, or sometimes an old or foreign coin. In the early nineteenth century, a ‘luck-penny’ was defined as ‘the cash which the seller gives back to the buyer after the latter has paid him; [...]
Animal words in Oxford Dictionaries Online
Oxford Dictionaries Online is a treasure trove of weird and wonderful words, as well as practical help with grammar, English language usage, and writing. Among the 350,000 definitions and entries in our free online dictionary, you will find thousands of words related to animals, from abalone to zorse. If you’ve never heard of a boodie [...]
Cheer yourself up with Oxford Dictionaries Online
The third Monday in January is allegedly the most depressing day of the year. We can see why: Christmas festivities are but a memory (apart from maybe an extra inch or two round the waist), we’ve just given up on our New Year’s resolutions, it feels like a long time since payday, and it’s been cold and miserable for as long as we can remember.
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