Cambridge is stuffed full of abbreviations, catch-all terms and shortenings. Here’s a list to help you navigate them!

  • Backs: Areas of grass running along the backs of the colleges by the river.
  • Bedders: The cleaners who look after Caius’ accommodation and clean your room.
  • Boatie: Slang for a rower.
  • Bops: A college-run party. Usually fancy dress (not to be confused with formal dress).
  • Bumps: The rowing races at the end of the Lent and Easter terms where crews try to bump (literally!) the boat ahead of them.
  • Caian: a member of Caius (pronounced ‘Key-an’).
  • Caius: Popular name for Gonville and Caius (Cambridge College). Pronounced ‘Keys’.
  • Ccafe: Caius Café – another great place to work in town, grab a coffee or cake with friends, or get lunch. Located at the bar, open from 08:00 to 15:00.
  • Clibrary (or Clib): Caius library – a great place to work in town, gets busy around lunchtime with undergrads after their lectures. Used to be part of the University Library, and has a great collection of books as well as being a great building!
  • Clunch: Caius lunch. Served Monday-Friday. Can be booked as “Student Lunch” on the meal booking system to use up your MDR. You can just turn up without a booking on Mon-Thurs, but make sure to book on Friday, even if not under MDR.
  • Courts: Courtyard areas within College, mostly with areas of grass which students cannot walk on. Caius has three – Tree Court (guess which one this is…), Caius Court (with the Gate of Honour in it) and Gonville Court (where Hall and the MCR are).
  • Crunch: Caius brunch. Served on Saturday. Can be booked as “Saturday Brunch” on the meal booking system to use up your MDR.
  • Formal: Dinner served in a college’s main Hall. Open to all students at that college and very reasonably priced. At several colleges, attendees are required to wear formal attire, including the college gown.
  • Fresher: Anyone in their first year of studies.
  • Freshers’ Week: The week when the Michaelmas term begins. Filled with events for Freshers organised by the college JCR/MCR and CUSU (Cambridge University Students’ Union).
  • GCSU: Short for Gonville and Caius Students’ Union. Technically, it represents all students at Caius (including us postgraduates), but functionally it is the representative body for the undergraduates.
  • Gyp-room: Refers to a kitchen in student accommodation.
  • Harvey Court: Another part of College accommodation, largely housing undergraduates. There’s now also a lovely coffee shop, Harvey’s Coffee House, here.
  • JCR: Junior Combination Room. The College Union for undergraduate students. Confusingly, this also refers to the physical room in Old Courts, with green walls next to the Red Room and Undercroft beneath Hall.
  • Lent: The Spring University term, which usually runs from January to March.
  • Master: The overarching head of the College, currently Professor Pippa Rogerson.
  • Matriculation: The formal ceremony at College in which you formally become part of the University.
  • May Ball: Massive, elaborate all-night parties held (usually) in May Week (i.e. in June). Pricey, but very much part of the Cambridge experience! Caius May Balls are the best in Cambridge (though we might be a little biased).
  • May Week: Cambridge’s famous week-long party in June after exams have finished.
  • MCR: Short for ”Middle Combination Room”. A protean abbreviation that can be used to refer to the entire Caius graduate body, the MCR’s Executive Committee, or either of the MCR Common Rooms located in Gonville Court or the basement of 6 Harvey Road.
  • MDR: Minimum Dining Requirement. Currently this is 16 for Caius Graduates, where you pay for 16 meals (Cafeteria Hall, Formal Hall, Clunch or Saturday Brunch) on your college bill at the start of term. This can be reduced by your tutor if you have welfare, academic or co-curricular reasons.
  • Old Courts: The College’s main site on Trinity Street, comprised of Gonville Court, Caius Court, Tree Court and St Michael’s Court.
  • Plodge: Short for Porters’ Lodge. You will visit this place way too often.
  • Porter: Vital members of college staff who are a combination of receptionists and security staff. They also know everything that goes on in college, so making friends with them is a really good idea!
  • Pidge:  Short for Pigeon hole – a labelled compartment in the plodge where your mail is delivered.
  • Raven: The University’s online authentication system, used to verify your identity for access to online databases and heaps of other things (such as the GCSU website).
  • Swaps: A group meal with students from another college or year. Arranged in Formal Halls or one of the many infamous swap restaurants in Cambridge (Curry King, Nanna Mexico, etc.).
  • Term: A two-month-long academic session at Cambridge. There are three in a year – Michaelmas, Lent and Easter.
  • The Other Place: Oxford University (yuck).
  • Tripos: The Cambridge term for an undergraduate degree course (for example, the Engineering Tripos).
  • Tutors: Every student is assigned a Tutor at College. Tutors are responsible for students’ general welfare, and can offer confidential help and advice. Tutors are available not only for consultation on all nonacademic matters, but academic matters too!