oxtail

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

From Middle English ox tayll, from Old English oxan tæġl (literally “ox's tail”), equivalent to ox + tail.

Thus, or words to that effect, saith Zarathustra, sometime regius professor of French letters to the university of Oxtail nor breathed there ever that man to whom mankind was more beholden. — Ulysses, James Joyce
“One mockturtle, clear; one oxtail; two glasses of port.” In the upper room at French’s, where a Forsyte could still get heavy English food, James and his son were sitting down to lunch. — The Forsyte Saga - Complete, John Galsworthy
The Baked Bean Chant, the Vermicelli Waltz, the Mush and Milk March, the sad and touchful Pumpkin Pie Refrain, the gay and rollicking Oxtail Soup Gallop, and the melting Ice Cream Serenade will yet be common musical names. — Remarks, Bill Nye

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