Editor's note: While students actually use these terms, this guide to Dartmouth lingo is meant to be tongue-in-cheek and should be taken as such.
anal (noun): High-strung, uptight. Usually of the pre-med sort.
beast (noun): Cheap, nutritious, socially-inspiring, ecologically-sound nectar of the gods, found flowing freely from the multitude of kegs located in any fraternity.
beer goggles (noun): A condition induced by large quantities of beast in which all standards hindering the choice of a particular mate are abandoned and trees start to appear sexually appealing.
Bema (proper noun): Although the name originates from the ancient Greek word for sanctuary, the Bema is known to most students as the Big Empty Meeting Area, the site for goofy pre-freshman trip bonding activities.
blitz (verb): To send an electronic mail message using the College's BlitzMail computer program. (noun) The actual electronic message.
boot (verb): Blow chunks, drive the porcelain bus, heave, hurl, hoot, lose your lunch, worship the porcelain goddess, talk to Ralph on the big white phone, Technicolor yawn, throw up, vomit, etc. More often than not, an aftereffect of chugging a wee bit too much beast. See "rally."
chug (verb): Usually in contest form, this tests your ability to make a cup of beer disappear quicker than your comrades.
circuit (noun): Consists of going, usually in a group, to each Greek house in one night to socialize and drink their beast.
crunchy (adj.): Used to describe the long-haired, wool socks and birkenstocks-clad DOC member often found eating Collis entrees out of a reusable container.
The D (noun): You're reading it! Get a year-long subscription and you're guaranteed mail in your HB (see below) every weekday.
deal (verb): To cope, usually with a seemingly insurmountable situation. "I've got a midterm in Orgo tomorrow and a 30-page paper due tomorrow." Response: "Shut up and deal."
drill (noun): The foundation of the Rassias method waking up at 7:45 every morning to have someone snap their fingers at you and demand that you speak in a language you do not yet understand.
EBAs (proper noun): Everything But Anchovies, a Hanover culinary institution which delivers pizza, infamous chicken sandwiches, and other delicacies until 2 a.m. every night. The ultimate tool-fuel.
fan (noun): One who enjoys or cares for something. "Do you like EBAs chicken sandwich?" Response: "Definitely! I'm a big fan."
frat rat (noun): One whose social, cultural and intellectual life revolves around the tap and pong table of a particular fraternity or sorority.
grim (adj.): Disquieting, disgusting, disturbing. Often has a lot to do with a sense of impending doom or irrevocable loss. "Whoa. Looks like someone booted on my stereo! Most grim! (sob)"
grind (verb): To get out on the fraternity dance floor and show someone else your affection for him or her. This often involves a lot of physical contact and usually a good bit of beast.
gut (noun): In theory, a course that you would feel kind of guilty taking when your parents are paying $30,000 a year for you to come here. Some people like to brag they take guts, but they are usually the ones that are a lot less picky about their GPAs. The fact of the matter is, nearly all courses at Dartmouth necessitate a healthy amount of work to score an A.
HB (proper noun): The abbreviation for Hinman Box, the cubbies in the Hop where students can pick up their mail ... or as is often the case, look for mail, then feel alone and depressed after finding it empty. (Did we mention that subscribing to The D alleviates this problem?)
hook-up (verb): To scam, make out, get together. The actual level of intimacy is usually not connoted by this term, so some amount of clarification may be necessary. Can also be used as a noun.
HTH (noun): "Home Town Honey" -- that special someone you pledged your eternal love to in Smalltown, U.S.A., and who you will forget about by mid-October.
issues (noun): a vague term describing anything that causes you grief from the opposite sex to tons of homework, as in "I'm having some serious issues with him."
L.S.Play (noun): Ten weeks of "studying" in a foreign country. Considered a reward for two terms of drill.
mung (noun): Found covering every fraternity basement floor. A combination of beer, boot and other fun things. Tends to stick to shoes and smells for days.
Observe Corridor (proper noun): The lower level of Baker Library includes the long "Reserve Corridor" where students can check out materials placed on reserve and, supposedly, study. However, more scoping and chatting gets accomplished than any amount of tooling.
Parkhursted (verb): An interesting leave term option available at Dartmouth named for Parkhurst Hall, the building which houses dozens of domineering Dartmouth deans. To have the administration ask -- no tell -- you to take a bit of a vacation. Not advised.
pong (noun): The drinking game of choice in most fraternity basements. Requires a plywood table, a pair of paddles, a ping pong ball and at least four cups of beer. Returns must be lobbed, and it's bad form to boot too soon.
rage (verb): To drink and dance, to be frivolous and have a good time, all to a higher degree than "to party."
rally (verb): To continue struggling with something, even though it may be physically trying. Often has something to do with sports, or with chugging, in which case the recommended usage goes, "Boot and
rally! Boot and rally!"
random (adj.): Weird, out-of-place, anachronistic. Can also be used, as a noun, to refer to any non-Dartmouth student who invades the campus on big weekends like Homecoming and Winter Carnival.
S & S (noun): Our friends in green. Short for campus police, otherwise known as Safety and Security, uninvited guests at freshman gatherings. They are often mistaken for EBAs delivery men.
scam (noun): A terribly vague word which can mean anything from making eyes at an attractive member of the opposite sex to doing things with that person that your mother would certainly never approve of.
scope (verb): To observe something, most often a special someone toward whom you are experience warm feelings.
ship (noun): Short for battleship, ship is a more intoxicating version of pong. Not recommended for lightweights.
'shmen (noun): You, at least for the next year!
'shmenu (noun): The "Green Book" cataloguing the photographs and home addresses of the freshmen class. The scammer's bible -- allows you to scope without leaving your room.
'shmob (noun): The preferred travel mode of freshmen, 'shmobs consist of 10 to 15 'shmen, who may or may not have been previously acquainted with one another, traveling around campus in a tightly knit group during the first weeks of Fall term, usually searching for beast.
sketchy (adj.): Suspicious, uncertain, questionable. Most often used to describe a situation or a person, who just seems weird, or maybe a scammer. "I don't know about Frank, he seems kind of sketchy."
'tails (noun): A social event serving cocktails, or a shortened name for the drinks themselves. Usually a more intimate and quiet gathering than raging frat parties.
tool (verb): To study with great exuberance. "I have a quiz tomorrow. It appears I must tool all night long. Pretty grim, eh?"
tool (noun): One who frequently engages in the act of tooling. "John has been in the '02 room every night for the past week. He's such a tool!"
walk of shame (noun): That long walk across campus following a hook-up where those beer goggles fit a little too closely. A downcast shuffle in which the person, disgraced, attempts to avoid being seen as they return to their own dorm.
