A Day in Oxford City Told Through Oxford Dictionary Definitions

Oxford City - Oxford Dictionary: Oxfordian
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Dictionary: A book or electronic resource that lists the words of a language (typically in alphabetical order) and gives their meaning. Inspired by a long (and sunny!) weekend in the home of Oxford University, here is a day in Oxford city as told through Oxford Dictionary definitions…

Oxford City - Oxford Dictionary: Muggle
Oxford City – Oxford Dictionary: Muggle

Muggle: A person who is not conversant with a particular activity or skill. Can often be found touristing around Harry Potter filming locations in Oxford.

1990s: from mug + -le; used in the Harry Potter books by J. K. Rowling to mean ‘a person without magical powers’.

‘she’s a muggle: no IT background, understanding, or aptitude at all’

Oxford City - Oxford Dictionary: Ashmolean Museum
Oxford City – Oxford Dictionary: Ashmolean Museum

Ashmolean Museum: A museum of art and antiquities in Oxford. It opened in 1683 and was the first public institution of its kind in England.

‘no, despite the empty tables you may not have a drink in the Ashmolean Museum Restaurant because of some vague excuse about an event or maybe allude to how it’s members only, but probably we’re just a bit snobby.’

Oxford City - Oxford Dictionary: 99
Oxford City – Oxford Dictionary: 99

Ninety-nine (also 99): A cone of ice cream with a stick of flaky chocolate in it and a symbol of British summertime. Allegedly costing 99p. Allegedly…

‘can I have a 99 with a flake and strawberry sauce, please?’ ‘that will be £2.50.’

Oxford City - Oxford Dictionary: Bridge of Sighs
Oxford City – Oxford Dictionary: Bridge of Sighs

Bridge of Sighs: A 16th-century enclosed bridge in Venice between the Doges’ Palace and the state prison, originally crossed by prisoners on their way to torture or execution.

Also an alternative name for Hertford Bridge, a skyway joining two parts of Hertford College over New College Lane in Oxford, England. Because it looks a bit like the one in Venice. Supposedly.

‘hey, do you want to take a trip over the bridge of sighs?’ ‘no, thanks. I can’t afford the flight.’

Oxford City - Oxford Dictionary: Photobomb
Oxford City – Oxford Dictionary: Photobomb

Photobomb: Spoil (a photograph) by unexpectedly appearing in the camera’s field of view as the picture is taken.

‘hey man, that’s a great jacket you’re wearing… is it a photobomber?’

Oxford City - Oxford Dictionary: Serendipitous
Oxford City – Oxford Dictionary: Serendipitous

Serendipitous: Occurring or discovered by chance in a happy or beneficial way.

‘what kind of dinosaur is it?’ ‘I think it’s a serendipitous.’

Oxford City - Oxford Dictionary: Oxfordian
Oxford City – Oxford Dictionary: Oxfordian

Oxfordian: Relating to or denoting the theory that Edward de Vere (1550–1604), Earl of Oxford, wrote the plays attributed to Shakespeare.

‘surely only an Oxfordian could have written Shakespeare’s plays?’ ‘spoken like a true Oxfordian.’

Oxford City - Oxford Dictionary: Punt
Oxford City – Oxford Dictionary: Punt

Punt: 1. [noun] A long, narrow flat-bottomed boat, square at both ends and propelled with a long pole, used on inland waters chiefly for recreation.

2. [verb] Travel or convey in a punt.

3. [silly] A word that sounds a little bit like a slightly ruder word.

‘you’re a massive punt.’

Oxford City - Oxford Dictionary: Castle
Oxford City – Oxford Dictionary: Castles in the Air

Castles in the Air: Visionary unattainable schemes; daydreams.

‘I wanted to look around the castle, but at 10 quid for a museum ticket, I was building castles in the air.’

Oxford City - Oxford Dictionary: Pub
Oxford City – Oxford Dictionary: Pub

Pub: An establishment for the sale of beer and other drinks, and sometimes also food, to be consumed on the premises. Origin: Mid 19th century: abbreviation of public house.

‘let’s go to the pub’, ‘a country pub’, ‘GERROUUTTAA MY PUB!’

Oxford City - Oxford Dictionary: Déjà Vu
Oxford City – Oxford Dictionary: Déjà Vu

Déjà Vu: A feeling of having already experienced the present situation.

‘Déjà Vu?’ ‘Angkor Wat?’

Oxford City - Oxford Dictionary: Peramble
Oxford City – Oxford Dictionary: Peramble

Peramble: A walk, a ramble; a short excursion with no particular route or aim.

‘my favourite dessert is peramble crupple.’

Oxford City - Oxford Dictionary: Oxford
Oxford City – Oxford Dictionary: Oxford

Oxford: 1. A city in central England, on the River Thames, the county town of Oxfordshire; population 146,100 (est. 2009). Oxford University is located there.

2. A thick cotton fabric chiefly used to make shirts.

3. A type of lace-up shoe with a low heel.

4. A lovely place to visit on a bright, spring day.

An Oxford Dictionary Day in Oxford City

An Oxford Day Told Through Oxford Dictionary Definitions

 

55 thoughts on “A Day in Oxford City Told Through Oxford Dictionary Definitions

  1. Omg I love this post! Such a creative and clever way to talk about your trip! And it was humorous, too! I’m sure this was ridiculously fun to write.

    1. Hi Holly, thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed it and found it funny too (it’s not just me, haha)! Yeah, it was pretty fun to write too. Thanks for reading.

  2. Haha! Great plays with words there. You captured the city well in your pictures too. Nice to see Cocos is still serving up wonderful food too, it was one of my favourite restaurants while I was at university.

    1. Hey, Julianna. Thank you so much. Glad you liked it. Oooh, I didn’t eat at Cocos, but will have to pay a visit seeing as it was one of your favourites. Thanks for the recommendation!

    1. Hi Asmita. Thanks so much! Yeah, it’s a little tongue in cheek (just a bit)! Hope you get a chance to visit Oxford – the city is so beautiful!

    1. Haha! Thanks, Brenna, glad you enjoyed it! Yeah, I’m an English grad too so this city really appealed to my literary side!

  3. Awesome! you could write an entire blog in this style, so unique & funny! I’ve visited Oxford a bunch of times but now I’m looking at it in a whole new light. Thanks for posting

  4. What a unique blog post. Very creative. I’ve never seen one written this way. Hopefully you weren’t carrying a copy of the dictionary with you.

    1. Hey Layrssa, thank you very much! Sadly, I wasn’t carrying a dictionary, I just relied on the Oxford Dictionary website when writing this post, but maybe I should have! Thanks for reading.

  5. Haha this is the most original post I’ve read in a long time Thanks so much! I’d really love to visit Oxford my next time around, looks like a lovely place!

    1. Oh wow, thanks Jacky! That’s such a lovely compliment to receive. Thank you so much for reading. I hope you get the chance to visit the city!

  6. Fun article to read…filled with new vocabulary as well. Very creative and interesting!! Sounds like a great time in Oxford!

  7. I love this post. It’s so clever. I’m saving and sharing it. I wish my brain were more on point right now so I could respond with dictionary definitions. I have always been interested in Oxford because of His Dark Materials, haha.

    1. Thank you! And thanks so much for sharing! Haha, perhaps you should! And yes – Oxford has such an interesting literary history. It’s probably one of the reasons I love it so much.

  8. Okay so now my time in the UK is making more sense… 🙂 hahah!
    I ended up taking Oxford off my list for this trip and now I’m wondering if that was a mistake!

  9. This is such a cute idea for a post! I loved seeing all the pictures of Oxford, and I learned some good new words from the definitions too. XDD For a second you had me thinking that Muggle was a word before Harry Potter.

  10. What a cool post! Never saw one like this, as a graduate in literature, I really enjoyed it (and learnt a few words!!). Also: can’t wait to go to Oxford!

  11. You are brilliant! This is one of the most interesting posts about travel I’ve ever read. Amazing photos too. Too bad about the biker photobombing your picture, it does help with perspective at least.

  12. Haha, I LOVE this! I love how creative you were writing this. As a die hard Harry Potter fan, I’d definitely be one of those Muggles, touristing around the filming locations! Haha. Great post! 🙂

  13. Such a fun way to present the post! Oxford looks like such a beautiful place to explore. I have to say that “Serendipitous” is my favorite word in this list.

  14. Interesting post. To be honest I got a little confused at first (just at muggle, coz i didn’t realize that it was also the place, as depicted in the photo) but then when the post got rolling, kaboom it was awesome. Creative, to say the least. Thanks for sharing 🙂

  15. Such a fun read! I was in Oxford a few months ago. I love that you mentioned Harry Potter cuz that’s mostly why I went lol BUT the highlight for me was when we were at Radcliffe Camera and some girl was like “wow I can’t believe they named all this after Daniel Radcliffe”. I laughed forever hahah.

  16. Love your dictionary approach to writing about Oxford! I would definitely love to visit the city – I had no idea it has its own version of the Bridge of Sighs!

  17. This was such a fun read, I loved reading your Oxford dictionary definitions! I visited Oxford a few years ago, but your post has me wishing I could visit again.

  18. This post is so adorable and unique and charming! Props to you for the most innovative blog post ever. Also, your definition of punting made me laugh out loud. Love this!!

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