Essential English phrases

The old division between the city's residents and the university, and still the frame for a lot of local argument — especially about housing, traffic and who the city centre is for.

One of the 39 self-governing colleges. A college is a landowner, an employer and a landlord as much as a place to study, and several own substantial parts of the city and the science parks.

The three eight-week terms. Oxford's second and third terms are named differently from Cambridge's Lent and Easter — a small marker of which city someone is from.

House in Multiple Occupation. In Oxford this is not jargon — the whole city is designated for additional licensing, so even a three- or four-person share needs a licence from the city council.

The Zero Emission Zone. A pilot covering a small named set of central streets, charging non-zero-emission vehicles that enter them. A wider zone has been proposed but not settled.

A camera-enforced point that only buses, taxis and cycles may pass. Oxford is threaded with them, which is why a route that looks direct on a map often is not drivable at all.

The long independent strip east of Magdalen Bridge — the least postcard-ish and most lived-in part of Oxford, and where a great deal of the actual city eats and drinks.

The local property tax, paid by the occupier and billed separately from rent. Oxford City Council bills you; the county council spends most of it. A 25% single-occupant discount and a full all-student exemption exist but must be claimed.

Since 1 May 2026 every private tenancy in England rolls month to month with no fixed term. There is no twelve-month lock-in and you can leave on two months' notice.

Propelling a flat-bottomed boat with a pole. In Oxford you stand inside the boat; in Cambridge you stand on the deck at the back. Each city insists the other is doing it wrong.

999 for a genuine emergency, NHS 111 for urgent medical help that is not life-threatening. Both free from any phone.