Gradus ad Cantabrigiam: Or, New University Guide to the Academical Customs, and Colloquial or Cant Terms Peculiar to the University of Cambridge, Observing Wherein It Differs from Oxford

This anonymous and light-hearted work was first published in 1803: reissued here is the edition of 1824, of which the authors describe themselves as ‘a Brace of Cantabs’. It claims both to be a guide to ‘the academical customs’ of the University of Cambridge and to its ‘colloquial or cant terms’ with notes on those that differ from the usage of Oxford. The balance of information is given to the less serious aspects of university life: for example, considerably more space is given, in the definition of ‘bishop’, to a recipe for mulled port wine than to the clerical role. The work abounds in puns (in English and Latin), anecdotes, and extracts (mostly amusing) from more serious histories of the university, and ends with a tailpiece on how to graduate ‘the reading way’ and ‘the varmint way’. This fascinating work demonstrates that the publication of spoof ‘guides to freshmen’ is nothing new.