The Oxford, Mississippi Dictionary: ‘Clusterfrosh’ and Other Terms

Needed nomenclature for a growing community.

Editor’s Note: This is an installment in a series of blogs on new Oxfordisms.

When I traverse Oxford’s highways, byways, sidewalks, and barstools, I observe things and acts that The Oxford English Dictionary doesn’t define. This dearth in accepted terminology leads to drawn-out explanations when referencing these phenomena. Our burgeoning community busts at its seams with growth, and so must our collective vocabulary.

So, I endeavor to begin a supplementary lexicon. This collection of terms will be known as The Oxford, Mississippi Dictionary*. 

Here are a few more terms to add to the vocab:

handshart, n.

Incorrect attempt at executing the Ole Miss “landshark” hand gesture, improperly extending one’s thumb, often accompanied by spreading apart the rest of one’s fingers.

clusterfrosh, n.

A group of several freshmen girls, dramatically overdressed like Julia Roberts going to work in Pretty Woman, walking around the Square cautiously in a tight formation, the first weekend of the fall semester. Often stalked closely by a pimple posse.

pimple posse, n.

Similar to a clusterfrosh. A group of several freshman males, dressed slovenly in untucked polo shirts and baseball caps, walking wide-eyed around the Square in a tight formation, the first weekend of the fall semester. Often seen stalking a clusterfrosh.

alleywacker, n.

Male Ole Miss student who initates fights in alleyways after bars close, often identified by overwhelming aroma of Axe Body Spray.

— Tad Wilkes, tad.wilkes@hottytoddy.com

* This is not a book. Yet.