975
Oliver Twist
Old Mother 'Hubbard a character in a NURSERY RHYME
(=an old song or poem for young children):
Old Mother Hubbard,
Went to the cupboard,
To get her poor dog a bone;
But when she came there,
The cupboard was bare,
And so the poor dog had none.
The expression 'the cupboard is bare' is sometimes used
about a situation in which a person, organization, or gov-
ernment has no money left.
Old 'Nick a humorous name for the DEVIL
Old North 'Church, the a church in Boston, Massachu-
setts, where two LANTERNS were hung from the STEEPLE in
order to tell people that the British army was coming near at
the beginning of the REVOLUTIONARY WAR
old people's home also old folks' home infml — n a
place where old people can live together and receive special
care → see also RESIDENTIAL CARE
old po'tato n a potato kept in store from the previous year's
crop
Old Pre'tender, the → see STUART, James Francis Edward
old school n of the old school old-fashioned; keeping to
old ideas: parents of the old school who don't let their children
stay up late
old-school adj [A] old-fashioned, or relating to ideas from
the past: He was one of the last old-school comics.
old school 'tie n especially BrE 1 [C] a special TIE that is worn
by someone who has been at a certain school, especially a
PUBLIC SCHOOL 2 [the+S] often derog a support system among
former pupils of the same school in later life: He's not very
clever but he got the job – I'm afraid it's a case of the old school
tie. → compare OLD-BOY NETWORK
Olds-mo-bile /'ouldzmoubi:l/ trademark a type of large car
made by the US company General Motors. Smaller models
of the Oldsmobile are now also available.
old-ster /'ouldstər/ n infml, often humor an old person
old-style adj [A] similar to the type of something that
existed in the past: old-style communism
Old 'Testament, the the Christian name for the first part
of the BIBLE, which consists of ancient Hebrew writings
about events from the period before the birth of JESUS. Most
of the Old Testament is the same as the Hebrew Bible, and
some of the stories and characters in it are also recognized in
Islam. The Old Testament includes the book of GENESIS,
which describes the origins of the world and its early
history. → compare NEW TESTAMENT; see also PENTATEUCH,
TORAH
old-time adj [A] typical of what used to exist, be done etc in
the past: old-time remedies
old-'timer n 1 a person who has been in a particular place,
job etc for a long time: Jackson's one of the old-timers in this
department. 2 especially AmE an old man
Old Traf-ford /ould 'træfədl-ford/ a famous sports ground
in Manchester in the north of England. It has a football
ground where MANCHESTER UNITED play, and a CRICKET
ground where games involving the English national cricket
team are often played.
Old Un-cle Tom Cob-bleigh /ould ʌŋkəl tom 'koblɪl
-ta:m 'ka:-/ → see COBBLEIGH, OLD UNCLE TOM
Old Vic, the /,ould 'vɪk/ a theatre in South London, known
especially for its productions of plays by William SHAKE-
SPEARE
old 'wives' tale n an ancient and not necessarily true
belief: They say carrots are good for your eyesight, but it's just
an old wives' tale.
old 'woman n slang 1 [(the)S] OLD LADY 2 [C] derog a person
(usually a man) who is too careful about small matters
and/or easily frightened —old-womanish adj
Old ,Woman Who ,Lived in a 'Shoe, The a character
in a NURSERY RHYME (=old song or poem for children), which
starts:
There was an old woman who lived in a shoe,
Who had so many children she didn't know what to do...
'old-world adj [A] apprec (of places, qualities etc) attractively
old; QUAIN'T: old-world charm/streets → compare OLDE
WORLDE
Old 'World, the Europe, Asia, and Africa; the Eastern
Hemisphere. It is called this because these were the only
parts of the world that European people knew about before
they discovered the 'New World'. The expression is still used
in descriptions of plants and animals from this part of the
world, but otherwise it is no longer much used. → compare
NEW WORLD
o-le-ag-i-nous /,əʊli'ædʒənəs/ adj tech oily; fatty
o-le-an-der /,əʊli'ændər/ n [C;U] a green bush from the
Mediterranean area with white, red, or pink flowers
o-le-o /'əʊliəʊ/ also o-le-o-mar-ga-rine
/,əʊliəʊmɑːdʒə'riːn, -mɑːg-||-'mɑːrdʒərɪn/ fml — n [U] AmE
infml MARGARINE
O lev-el /'əʊ ,levəl/ n 1 [U] Ordinary level; in England and
Wales, the lower of the two standards of examination in the
GCE, the higher level being known as the A LEVEL. It was
replaced in 1988 by the GCSE. 2 [C] an examination of this
standard in a particular subject, taken at around the age of
16: She took six O levels. | Have you got O level French? →
compare O GRADE
ol-fac-to-ry /ɒl'fæktəri:l, -əl-/ adj med or humor of or about
the sense of smell: the olfactory organ (=the nose)
ol-i-garch /'ɒlɪgɑ:kɪl'ɑ:lɪgɑ:rk, 'əʊ-/ n a member of an
OLIGARCHY
ol-i-gar-chy /'ɒlɪgɑ:kɪl'ɑ:lɪgɑ:rkɪ, 'əʊ-/ n 1 [U] govern-
ment by a small group of people, often for their own
interests 2 [C] a state governed by a small group 3 [C+sing./
pl.v] the group who govern such a state
O ,Little Town of 'Bethlehem the title and first words of
a Christmas CAROL (=a traditional religious song) popular in
the UK:
O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie,
Above they deep and dreamless sleep,
The silent stars go by.
ol-ive /'ɒlɪvl'ɑ:-/ n 1 [C] a tree grown in Mediterranean
countries, which has a small bitter-tasting egg-shaped fruit:
an olive grove 2 [C] the fruit of this tree, used for food and
also for its oil → see picture at FRUIT 3 [U] also ,olive 'green
— dull pale green
'olive branch n [S] a sign of peace; especially in the phrase
hold out an/the olive branch (=to make a sign of peace)
,olive 'drab adj especially AmE having a greyish-green colour,
used especially for military uniforms —olive drab n [U]
,olive 'oil n [U] a pale greenish-yellow oil obtained from olives,
used in cooking and for making SALAD DRESSINGS
Ol-i-ver, Ja-mie /'ɒlɪvər
ll'ɑ:-, 'dʒeɪmɪ/ (1975–) a Brit-
ish CELEBRITY CHEF (=skilled
cook who often appears on
television) who has made
several successful television
programmes about cooking,
especially The Naked Chef.
Books containing the RECI-
PES used in these pro-
grammes have been very
popular. He speaks with an
Essex ACCENT (=way of
speaking) and is well-known
for using words such as
PUKKA (=very good). He has
appeared in many television
advertisements for the
SUPERMARKET company
Sainsbury's.
Jamie Oliver
Oliver 'Twist (1837–38) a novel by Charles DICKENS about a
poor boy called Oliver Twist. The most famous scene in the
book takes place in the WORKHOUSE when he holds out his
bowl and asks for more food, but is punished instead. He
runs away to London and then lives with FAGIN, the leader
of a group of young thieves who include the ARTFUL DODGER.
The popular MUSICAL (=a play or film that uses singing and
dancing to tell a story) Oliver is based on this story.