Tag Archives: Slang

Bequest (Nathan Zhang)

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Title: Bequest

General Information:

         Customary Lore: Tradition

         Verbal Lore: Slang

         Language: English

         Country of Origin: United States

         Informant: JV ’22

         Date Collected: 11/03/21

         Location Collected: Topliff Tennis Courts at Dartmouth

Informant Data: 

JV ’22 is a 22-year-old male from Newton, Massachusetts. He is a member of the Dartmouth Class of 2022, and he is majoring in Computer Science. Outside of the classroom, JV ’22 is involved with the Club Tennis team, DREAM, and Alpha Chi Alpha. He plans to work in the technology industry as a software engineer upon graduation.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: JV ’22 and I were playing tennis at the Topliff Tennis Courts when he shared this piece of folklore with me. The piece of folklore is a tradition, and he first learned of the tradition and the slang term used to describe it during the spring term of his freshman year at Dartmouth. Specifically, he learned about this piece of folklore in the context of one of the clubs he is involved with, the club tennis team. Here, the graduating senior members of the club tennis team handed down different physical items to the other members of the team before graduating. These items, and the tradition of seniors handing down meaningful items, is referred to as ‘bequests’. JV ’22 and all of the members of the club tennis team were present when the folklore was performed. Here, the seniors at the time were performing the tradition of handing down items, and everyone else in the club was happy and positively impacted by the folklore performance, as they received meaningful things from students that were their friends and graduating. This folklore is normally performed within different clubs and organizations, especially clubs and organizations that are smaller, more exclusive, and more tight-knit. The tradition is always when seniors will hand down items to other members of the organization. These items typically have some meaning behind them.
  • Cultural Context: Here, the relevant cultural context is that the informant is a student at Dartmouth College who is involved with smaller, exclusive, tight-knit clubs and organizations. First, this customary folklore is known to all Dartmouth students and performed by many graduating seniors. More importantly, however, it is performed by students who are graduating and are involved with clubs and organizations that are small, exclusive, and tight-knit. This is likely because the items handed down during these traditions are meaningful, and, as a result, seniors will give them to other students that they have spent a lot of time with. Furthermore, many of these items that are handed down stay within a club or organization. Bequest have a positive connotation, because they are meaningful things that are handed down by seniors to other students. They typically have a positive impact on one’s Dartmouth experience.

Item: 

Bequest: A customary lore in which seniors, typically within a club or organization, will hand down different items to other non-graduating students, typically within the same club or organization as the seniors. It is also used as verbal lore to refer to the tradition, as well as the items that are handed down during the tradition. For example, used in a sentence: “I was bequested this shirt from a ’20 in my fraternity.”

Associated File: 

“Bequests, I think, are a really cool tradition at Dartmouth. I remember freshman year on the club tennis team when one of the seniors bequested me an old wooden racquet that had been passed down through the club for almost a decade. It was very meaningful because I was very close with this senior. That was when I first learned about bequests, and the entire club tennis team had met at one of the senior’s apartment for the seniors to do bequests. Everyone at Dartmouth should know this word, but the actual tradition itself is performed pretty much exclusively within clubs. I think bequest is an actual word, but here at Dartmouth we just use it to describe this specific tradition.”

Informant’s Comments: 

Bequests are really meaningful to both the senior handing it down and the person who receives it. When I graduate this year, I’m excited to pass down a lot of the bequests that I got from seniors, as well as a lot of my own belongings that I plan to hand down.

Collector’s Comments: 

The term bequest means the act of bequeathing something, typically in one’s will. At Dartmouth, it specifically refers to a meaningful tradition that is performed within clubs. As mentioned, it is both customary lore and verbal lore. It is customary in that it is a tradition that many students participate in within the context of a club. It is verbal in that it is a slang term that every student at Dartmouth knows and uses.

Collector’s Name: Nathan Zhang

Tags / Keywords: FA21, FA21-Grp-03, Dartmouth, Customary Lore, Tradition, Verbal Lore, Slang, Students, Dartmouth Clubs

Blitz (Nathan Zhang)

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Title: Blitz

General Information:

         Verbal Lore: Slang

         Language: English

         Country of Origin: United States

         Informant: SW ’22

         Date Collected: 11/04/21

         Location Collected: First Floor Baker-Berry Library

Informant Data: 

SW ’22 is a 21-year-old female from Houston, Texas. She is a member of the Dartmouth Class of 2022, and she is majoring in Linguistics modified with Economics and minoring in French. Outside of the classroom, SW ’22 is involved with the Sugarplum dance group, Women in Business, Women in Student Business, Social Impact Nonprofit Consulting, and Kappa Kappa Gamma. She plans to work in the consulting industry upon graduation.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: SW ’22 was studying in the Baker-Berry Library when she shared this piece of verbal lore with me. She first learned the term as a first-year student during First-Year Trips. Trips is an orientation experience where incoming first-year students spend a few days in the outdoors with 6-8 other first-year students and two upperclassmen mentors. On her trip, SW ’22 learned about the verbal slang ‘Blitz’ when her two upperclassmen mentors did an activity with her and the other first-year students on her trip where they specifically listed off a number of Dartmouth slang terms and defined them. Blitz was one of those words, and SW ’22 and the other 6-8 first-year students learned how to perform this piece of folklore. This piece of verbal slang is performed reguarly and used by all students at Dartmouth.
  • Cultural Context: Here, the relevant cultural context is that the informant is a student at Dartmouth College. This piece of folklore is known to and used by all Dartmouth students and is a type of verbal slang. It is commonly used casually between students when referring to emails that are sent from one Dartmouth email account to another Dartmouth account – or accounts. It is specifically used in reference to emails sent from Dartmouth clubs or organizations to large groups of students, or in reference to emails sent in academic settings. Blitz can have both a positive and negative connotation, depending mostly on the situation. For example, for a first-year student, a campus-wide email blitz sent by a club that they may be interested in would be exciting, and thus blitz would have a positive connotation. That same campus-wide blitz, however, could be found as annoying to an upperclassmen student who knows they are not interested in the club, and thus blitz would have a negative connotation.

Item: 

Blitz: Short for “Blitz Web Access”. Blitz refers to an email sent from one Dartmouth account to another. For example, used in a sentence: “Did you get that campus-wide blitz about COVID restrictions?”

Associated File: 

“A word I learned while on trips was ‘Blitz’. Blitz is basically a Dartmouth email sent between two Dartmouth accounts. I learned it when my trip leaders sat down with me and my other tripees and explained a bunch of different Dartmouth slang words to us. This term is used by everyone at Dartmouth, and it came to be because it’s short for ‘Blitz Web Access’.”

Informant’s Comments: 

Dartmouth likes to be niche about a lot of things, and they have their own lingo. Blitz is just one of those words.

Collector’s Comments: 

Blitz is a piece of Dartmouth slang that is known to and used by everyone. There may be some Dartmouth students that do not know that it is short for ‘Blitz Web Access’.

In her transcript, SW ’22 refers to the terms ‘trip leaders’ and ‘tripees’. ‘Trip leaders’ references the upperclassmen mentors on first-year trips, and ‘tripees’ refers to the other incoming first-year students who are on someone’s trip.

Collector’s Name: Nathan Zhang

Tags / Keywords: FA21, FA21-Grp-03, Dartmouth, Verbal Lore, Slang, Students, Email, Dartmouth Clubs

BEMA (Nathan Zhang)

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Title: BEMA

General Information:

         Verbal Lore: Slang

         Language: English

         Country of Origin: United States

         Informant: NC ’23

         Date Collected: 11/07/21

         Location Collected: Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth

Informant Data: 

NC ’23 is a 20-year-old male from Chicago, Illinois. He is a member of the Dartmouth Class of 2023, and he is studying Engineering and History. Outside of the classroom, NC ’23 is involved with the Triathlon team, Hillel, DOC, Ledyard, and Alpha Chi Alpha.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: NC ’23 was studying in Thayer when he shared this piece of folklore with me. He first learned the term as a first-year student while participating in the Twilight Ceremony. The Twilight Ceremony is where members of the newest incoming class at Dartmouth – in this case, the Class of 2023 – are passed candles from the graduating class and participate in a procession. At the ceremony, upperclassmen and faculty used the term “BEMA” to describe the location they were walking to. The entire Dartmouth Class of 2023 was present, though they were not partaking in the performance. In addition, upperclassmen and faculty were present to help with the ceremony, and they were participating in the use of this verbal slang. After the ceremony, most of the Class of 2023 students learned about this piece of folklore and likely participated in future use of the term. While this specific performance was generated by the Twilight Ceremony, this piece of verbal slang is performed regularly and by all students at Dartmouth when referencing this geographical location.
  • Cultural Context: Here, the relevant cultural context is that the informant is a student at Dartmouth College. This piece of folklore is known to and used by all Dartmouth students and is a type of verbal slang. It is commonly used in extracurricular settings and when large gatherings take place outdoors at this location. BEMA typically has a positive connotation, as it refers to a location where friends or people with common interests may gather to meet.

Item: 

BEMA: An acronym short for “Big Empty Meeting Area”. BEMA refers to a specific geographical location at Dartmouth. It is a large field that is a common gathering area, and it is located just past the Fayerweather dorm cluster. For example, used in a sentence: “Our club meets at BEMA every week.”

Associated File: 

“One phrase I picked up freshman year was ‘BEMA’. It’s short for ‘Big Empty Meeting Area’, and is that large grass field by the [Fayerweather dorms]. I first learned this word during the candle ceremony my freshman year. I was with my friends, and we were confused where everyone was walking to, and someone told us that we were walking to BEMA, which I soon realized was just a large grassy field where people commonly meet – hence the acronym. All of Dartmouth uses this term, but being involved with a lot of the ‘outdoorsy’ clubs here, I probably use it more than others because my clubs will meet at BEMA a lot of the time. This slang came to be probably because people didn’t have a name for the place they were meeting at, and so they came up with ‘Big Empty Meeting Area’ and shortened it to ‘BEMA’ because it’s easier to say. Used in a phrase: ‘My friends and I are going to hammock at BEMA.'”

Informant’s Comments: 

When it’s not too cold out and the weather is nice, I’d really recommend going to BEMA, if even just to get a breath of fresh air. You can go see the Robert Frost statue too, if you haven’t seen it before.

Collector’s Comments: 

BEMA is a piece of Dartmouth verbal slang that most, if not all, Dartmouth students should know and at one point have used. Less commonly known, however, is the fact that it is an acronym short for “Big Empty Meeting Area”. Personally, I learned that while collecting this piece of slang and previously had not known why the location was called BEMA.

Collector’s Name: Nathan Zhang

Tags / Keywords: FA21, FA21-Grp-03, Dartmouth, Verbal Lore, Slang, Students, Dartmouth Clubs, Meeting Area

Sklodge (Dylan Bienstock)

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General Information:

  • Type: Verbal Lore
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: T.H. ’23
  • Date Collected: 11/07/2021
  • Location Collected: Dartmouth

Informant Data:

T.K. is a 21-year-old female from New England. She was born and raised in Boston, MA and is majoring in mechanical engineering at Dartmouth College. T. enjoys spending her free time doing Acapella and spending time hiking and walking in and around Hanover.

Contextual Data

  • Cultural Context: Dartmouth student often particpate in First Year Trip before starting their freshman fall. This is a 6 day program where student join a group of 3-7 fellow incoming freshman and 2 upperclassmen trip leaders to explore the Hanover and its surrounding area. On one day, students take a trip to a lodge, either Moosilauke or the Dartmouth Ski Lodge where they spend time outside, dance with friends, and have a nice dinner. On this trip, students often call the Ski Lodge the Sklodge.
  • Social Context: First Year Trips is an opportunty for freshman to be introduced to Dartmouth. They often take what they learn, including the termonology, and do their best to build it into their daily life in order to feel more comortable or included at Dartmouth.

Item:

Sklodge stands for “Ski Lodge.” This refers to the Dartmouth Ski Lodge located at the Dartmouth Ski way near Lyme, New Hampshire.

Associate File:

Transcript: “The sklodge, or ski lodge, is the Ski Lodge on the Dartmouth owned ski mountain 25 minutes away from campus. It functions as a normal ski lodge in the winter, a place for patrons to get changed, warm up, and grab food. Recently, it functioned as one of the lodges freshman went during First Year Trips. Half the class of 2025 went to the sklodge to participate in the normal lodge actives such as games, dancing, and a meal. It was interesting being here, as my freshman year everyone was at Moosilauke. I had never head this term until I was a trip leader, which is different than most Dartmouth terminology I learned early on Freshamn year. Many of my friends don’t know this word so I am not as likely to use it on campus compared to other terms like FFB or Dark Side. Althouth, it’s kind of fun being one of the first people to learn this work and to have the opportunity to share it with other students. Althouth I don’t know if this term is going to continue or disappear in the coming years.”

Informants Comments:

2021 was the first time First Year Trips went to the lodge. This was due to Coronavirus and the need to reduce the size of students together at once. Thus, this term is largely known by the Dartmouth class of 2025 and trip leaders that year. It will be interesting to see if First Year Trips uses the ski lodge again and if this slang will continue to be relevant or may die out.

Collector’s Name: Dylan Bienstock

Tags/Keywords

  • Verbal Folklore
  • Slang
  • Students
  • Dartmouth
  • First Year Trips

Flair (Dylan Bienstock)

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General Information:

  • Type: Verbal Lore
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: V.L. ’23
  • Date Collected: 11/07/2021
  • Location Collected: Dartmouth

Informant Data:

V.L. is a 19-year-old male from New England. He was born and raised in New Hampshire and is at Dartmouth pursuing a major in Biology and is on the pre-med track. At Dartmouth, V. enjoys spending is on the club baseball team and lifting at Zimmerman Gym

Contextual Data

  • Cultural Context: Dartmouth is an extemely isolated school. The social events that Dartmouth students go to are exclusively Dartmouth students, occur in Dartmouth or student owned spaces, and are hosted by Dartmouth organizations. This enables themes such as flair to gain popularity as they fit in with the exclusive nature.
  • Social Context: Nearly, if not all, students at Dartmouth know the term flair. Additionally, most students have gone to a flair themed event and have some flair of their own that they have aquired from upperclassmen. Flair is an idea that bring Dartmouth students together, allowing them to have this shared idea that everyone can easily participate in.

Item:

Flair stands for flashy, exciting, colorful clothing typically worn to Dartmouth parties and events, generally, those at greek houses

Associate File:

Transcript: “Flair is both a theme and a way to describe how someone dresses. It means to wear flashy, exciting, colorful clothing to Dartmouth parties and events. While the term is used universally on campus, its use seems to be concentrated around greek houses. Freshman fall I was invited to a club baseball event at a fraternity and was told the theme and informed of its meaning. Throughout your freshman fall, you learn the term. It’s a universal word at Dartmouth. Everyone knows it even if they don’t use it. Some groups use it more than others. It helps people express themselves the way they want. It’s a very loose word that people can interpret how they want and wear what they want. Everyone has a different flair. It is easy to dress in theme and feel included”

Informants Comments:

Often when students graduate they will pass on their flair to underclassmen. This usually occurs during an end-of-the-year dinner/banquet for most organizations on campus and is a unique opportunity for individuals and communities to build connections with one another.

Collector’s Name: Dylan Bienstock

Tags/Keywords

  • Verbal Folklore
  • Slang
  • Students
  • Dartmouth
  • Social

FFB (Dylan Bienstock)

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General Information:

  • Type: Verbal Lore
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: C.K. ’23
  • Date Collected: 11/07/2021
  • Location Collected: Dartmouth

Informant Data:

C.K. is a 20-year-old male from North West United States. He was born and raised in Oregon and moved across the country to pursue an engineering degree at Dartmouth College. At Dartmouth, C. enjoys spending time outdoors with friends and playing water polo for the club team.

Contextual Data

  • Cultural Context: Dartmouth is a diffuclt school where students are often required to spend large amount of time working and studying. How people study varies, and FFB gives students the opprtunity to study in a more social and engaging enviroment. This is in contast to rooms in upper levels of the library which are typically much quieter.
  • Social Context: Baker/Berry library is considering the main study location at Dartmouth college. As would make sense, the first floor, which is most accessible, is one of the most popular spaces for people to meet and do work. The location is filled with larger desks and round tables that students can work at with their friend.

Item:

FFB stands for “First First Berry.” This refers the the first floor study space of the Baker-Berry Library where Dartmouth College students go to, but is not limited to, work on problem sets, papers group-projects, and socialize with friends.

Associate File:

Transcript: “FFB stands for First Floor Berry. It is the main study area in the Dartmouth Library. I first heard it when I was a Freshman. It was one of my first days on campus and I overheard an upperclassmen ask their friend if they wanted to meet at FFB. At first I had no idea what it meant and later on, when I was on trips, my trip leader told me about its meaning. The term seems universal among Dartmouth students, with all grade years using the term, and no grade seems to use it more than the other. We also have a kind of mini community on FFB. There are certain frequenters of this space who spend most, if not all, of their study time there.”

Informants Comments:

FFB has a very positive connotation. It makes me think of talking and spending time with friends. A “coming together” type of word

Collector’s Name: Dylan Bienstock

Tags/Keywords

  • Verbal Folklore
  • Slang
  • Students
  • Dartmouth
  • Studying

The Ledyard Bridge Challenge (Annabel Revers)

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Title: The Ledyard Bridge Challenge

General Information:

  • Type: Verbal Folklore
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: KC ’18
  • Date Collected: 11/5/2021
  • Location Collected: Phone Call

Informant Data:

  • KC ’18 is a twenty-five-year-old female and a Dartmouth alumni. She is a member of the Class of 2018 and studied Economics and Environmental studies during her time at Dartmouth. She is from Vancouver, Canada, but is now living in New York City where she works as a consultant. During her time at Dartmouth, she was a member of a sorority and enjoyed spending time with her friends when she was not busy with work.

Contextual Data

  • Cultural Context: Dartmouth has various traditions that can be classified as “challenges.” While their origins are often unknown, these challenges provide students with both entertainment during their time at Dartmouth and the opportunity to participate in and perpetuate Dartmouth traditions. They also provide Dartmouth students with the opportunity to prove that they can do something challenging outside of academics and sports. Furthermore, they create a bond among the friends that attempt them together. These traditions are passed down among generations of students, and the “Ledyard Bridge Challenge” is just one of many such challenges.
  • Social Context: The Ledyard Challenge is typically attempted in warmer months when the water temperature is bearable to swim in. Many students aim to complete this challenge at least once during their time at Dartmouth. Sophomore Summer, or the summer during which the entire sophomore class takes summer courses, is a fairly typical time to complete the challenge because of the warm weather. The Ledyard Challenge is one of the riskier challenges in Dartmouth culture because of the possibility of being caught by campus security or Hanover police. Because of this, it is also a challenge that is quite effective in bonding students through common experience.

Item:

  • The “Ledyard Bridge Challenge,” also called “Ledyard,” refers to the challenge of a person, or more commonly a group, removing their clothing and swimming across the Connecticut River. The participants then run back across the Ledyard Bridge and dress themselves before they get caught by campus security or the police. For example, a student will ask their friend, “Want to do Ledyard later tonight?”.

Associated File:

  • Transcript: “I first heard about Ledyard my freshman year. Pretty much everyone on campus at least knows what it is by then. The thought of it terrified me at first, but I finally had the guts to try it my sophomore summer. Luckily my friends and I successfully completed the challenge without getting caught. I was so relieved! I think most people try the challenge at least once during their time at Dartmouth. As far as I can tell, it’s a tradition that’s been passed down for decades now, usually just through upperclassmen talking about it to younger students. I think most people wanna try it just for a thrill and to spice up their time here. Life gets a little monotonous on campus sometimes and you have to find ways to keep yourself entertained. It also makes you feel like you’re really a part of Dartmouth once you complete the challenge, like you really belong.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • Even though I found the Ledyard Challenge very stressful, I would still recommend students try it with their friends just because of what a bonding experience it is.

Collector’s Comments:

  • The Ledyard Challenge is something I only heard about later in my freshman year at Dartmouth. Unlike slang that refers to locations on campus, slang surrounding challenges seems to be learned a little bit later on in students’ time at Dartmouth, perhaps because it is less immediately necessary for integrating into Dartmouth culture and is typically not attempted until students are further into their time at Dartmouth. It should also be noted that the challenge itself can be considered Customary Folklore–it is the phrase itself as slang and its meaning that we are documenting here.

Collector’s Name: Annabel Revers

Tags/Keywords: Verbal Folklore, Students, English, Dartmouth, Slang, Challenges, Ledyard, Ledyard Bridge Challenge

Lou’s Challenge (Annabel Revers)

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Title: Lou’s Challenge

General Information:

  • Type: Verbal Lore
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: MR ’18
  • Date Collected: 11/7/2021
  • Location Collected: Phone Call

Informant Data:

  • MR ’18 is a twenty-six-year-old male who was born in Boston and grew up in Weston, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. He is a Dartmouth Alumni and graduated in 2018. He majored in Computer Science and currently works as a software engineer in New York City, where he lives, for a financial technology company. While at Dartmouth, he was heavily involved in the Computer Science Department as a teaching assistant and tutor. He also worked at the technology support desk. He is of German and Polish heritage and does not prescribe to any religion, although he grew up with two Catholic parents.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Dartmouth has various traditions that can be classified as “challenges.” While their origins are often unknown, these challenges provide students with both entertainment during their time at Dartmouth and the opportunity to participate in and perpetuate Dartmouth traditions. They also provide Dartmouth students with the opportunity to prove that they can do something challenging outside of academics or sports and, as they are frequently attempted with friends, provide a bonding experience among classmates. The “Lou’s Challenge” is just one of many such challenges.
  • Social Context: Lou’s is a restaurant in Hanover, New Hampshire, located on the main street of the town and a brief minute walk from the green, which marks the center of campus. Lou’s serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and is by far the most popular brunch place in town. It typically has long wait times on the weekends as it is popular among student as well as other residents of Hanover. The phrase “Lou’s Challenge” is typically used exclusively by students rather than the general Dartmouth population. Although professors and likely other Hanover residents know about the challenge, it is students alone who attempt this feat. This slang is used around campus and is not limited to a particular season, though people more frequently attempt the Lou’s Challenge when weather is warmer. The term is typically used on “on-nights” when students go out to parties, which would be Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, as students are typically out late anyways. The term is also frequently used during busy academic weeks when students are staying up late studying for exams and decide to attempt the challenge. Most students strive to attempt the challenge at least once in their Dartmouth careers, but there are lots of failed attempts where students cannot manage to stay up for so many hours and instead fall asleep. Students typically hear of this challenge early on in their Dartmouth Career, perhaps their freshman fall, but will attempt the challenge at any point in their Dartmouth Career. It is almost always attempted in pairs or groups, never alone.

Item:

  • The phrase “Lou’s Challenge” refers to the challenge of staying up all night and going to Lou’s Restaurant when it opens at 6am. For example, a student will ask their friend, “Want to do Lou’s after going out tonight?”.

Associated File:

  • Transcript: “I first heard about the Lou’s Challenge early on in my freshman year from a friend who said we should do it. I’m guessing he learned about it from an upper classman. I did the Lou’s Challenge once while I was at Dartmouth. It was a terrible experience, it was not fun at all and I just slept the whole day afterward. I would define the challenge as staying up all night and then going to Lou’s at 6am. Either you’re pulling an all nighter studying for an exam or you are out partying and trying to find things to do to keep you busy and help you not fall asleep.  I would use it, like, “Wanna do the Lou’s Challenge tonight after going out?”. I think it probably came about a long time ago since Lou’s has been around for like ever, but also probably because people here are bored and have nothing better to do with their time.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • I would not recommend doing the Lou’s Challenge as it’s not a fun experience, but it’s a Dartmouth tradition so I guess we have to keep it going.

Collector’s Comments:

  • The motivation for completing the Lou’s Challenge varies from person to person, but many students, including MR ’18, feel like they have to complete it just for the sake of keeping the tradition going and passing it down to future generations. The Lou’s Challenge, though impossible to say how far back it dates, has been going on for likely decades at the very least. I think this says a lot about human nature and our desire for tradition in order to feel more a part of our community. By completing the Lou’s Challenge, students feel more immersed in campus culture and feel united with each other by the common experience of staying up all night and going to the same place afterward for breakfast. It should also be noted that the challenge itself may be considered Customary Folklore–in this entry it is the phrase itself and its meaning as slang that we are documenting.

Collector’s Name: Annabel Revers

Tags/Keywords: Verbal Folklore, Students, English, Dartmouth, Slang, Challenges, Food, Lou’s, Lou’s Challenge

Foco (Annabel Revers)

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Title: Foco

General Information:

  • Type: Verbal Lore
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: ES ’23
  • Date Collected: 11/1/2021
  • Location Collected: Baker/Berry Library at Dartmouth College

Informant Data:

  • ES ’23 is a twenty-year-old female from Orange County, California. She is a member of the Class of 2023 at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire where she studies Economics and Government. On campus, she is involved in the Women in Student Businesses organization, is a teaching assistant for an engineering course, and is a member of a sorority. ES is also vegan, but this does not restrict her from dining at the various dining centers around campus–she is able to find options at all of them that fit her dietary needs. She plans on going into consulting after graduation.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Students at Dartmouth generally use the dining halls quite a lot. Though there are options for eating out and getting takeout food in town, they are somewhat limited given the relatively remote location of the campus. Most students thus opt to stay on a meal plan for all four years that they go to Dartmouth for the sake of convenience and also cost effectiveness. “Foco” is the largest dining hall on campus and one of the more frequently used by students of various backgrounds, involvements, and class years. The atmosphere at Foco varies depending on the meal time. While breakfast is somewhat quiet given many students do not eat breakfast due to sleeping in too late, at peak hours, Foco is typically quite lively and crowded. Peak hours for lunch are between noon and 1pm, while peak hours for dinner are between 6 and 7pm. During these times, it can be difficult for a student to get a table. There are various food options, ranging in terms of health and nutritional value. Typically, one can always find something at Foco that appeals to them and fits with their diet and nutritional needs.
  • Social Context: “Foco” is typically used exclusively by students rather than the general Dartmouth population, as it is generally students alone who dine at the Class of 1953 Commons. This slang word is used around campus at any time of the day when one would typically be up and looking for something to eat. Foco serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so this piece of lore applies to all three meals and is used throughout the day. It would generally be used under the following circumstances: a student is going there for a meal, a student is asking someone else to go there for a meal with them, a sports team is all going there to eat after practice, someone is going to study there (sometimes people go to both eat and study), or a club is meeting there. It is often the case that girls eat at Foco more early on in their college career at Dartmouth, rarely going there by the time they are seniors. Guys, however eat at Foco for all four years they are at Dartmouth. The reasons for this are unknown.

Item:

  • “Foco” stands for “food court.” It is colloquial slang that refers to the Class of 1953 Commons, a dining hall at Dartmouth College. For example, a student will ask another student, “Want to get dinner at Foco?”.

Associated File:

  • Transcript: “Foco stands for food court, which is kinda weird because there’s an actual name for it too, the class of fifty-something commons. I think I first heard the term on trips when my trip leaders were talking about the different places to eat on campus. They said it in passing though, so I didn’t realize that Foco wasn’t the actual name of the dining center until a friend told me when I got back to campus and went there to eat for the first time. Almost everyone on campus uses this slang term even if they don’t eat there–Foco just comes up. It’s mostly underclassmen and guys that eat there though; a lot of girls stop eating there after freshman year. It’s a social thing, can’t explain it. But I still eat there sometimes when I’m running out of DBA. It’s also a good place to go if you want to run into people.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • I would recommend Foco, though the food varies a lot in quality day to day.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I think it is interesting how ES mentioned Foco is not just a place to eat but also a place to socialize and a place of community gathering where you run into various people you know. Such must add to its appeal for some people and deter others who may want to grab a meal without having to socialize. Furthermore, I think it is important to note that Foco is one of the more frequently used slang words on Dartmouth Campus. It makes sense that an acronym would arise for a dining center so frequently used by students, especially considering its actual name is quite lengthy and would be difficult to say throughout the day in the casual contexts in which it is typically referred to. Finally, I wanted to clarify the transcript’s reference to “trips”–these are the camping trips all first-year Dartmouth students participate in before matriculation.

Collector’s Name: Annabel Revers

Tags/Keywords: Verbal Folklore, Students, English, Dartmouth, Slang, Dining Halls, Food, Acronyms

3FB (Annabel Revers)

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Title: 3FB

General Information:

  • Type: Verbal Lore
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: RR ’23
  • Date Collected: 11/5/2021
  • Location Collected: Baker/Berry Library at Dartmouth College

Informant Data:

  • RR ’23 is a twenty-one-year-old female born in London, England. She is a member of the Class of 2023 at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. She is majoring in Economics modified with Psychology and consequently spends quite a lot of time in the library. RR is very involved on campus in both student organizations and athletics. She is a leader of Women in Student Businesses as well as a coxswain on the Men’s Lightweight Crew Team. She has also acted in many theatrical productions throughout her time at Dartmouth. She was recently accepted for an internship during the Summer of 2022 in consulting, which is the field she plans on having a career in.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: With ten week, fast-paced terms, Dartmouth students spend a lot of time studying and, consequently, a lot of time in the library. There is an attitude of “working hard and playing hard” embedded in campus culture, and with that comes the expectation that students are constantly running to the library to fit in work between their other commitments and social activities.
  • Social Context: This phrase is typically used exclusively by students rather than the general Dartmouth population. It is used around campus at any time of the day when one would typically be awake. It would also generally be used under the following circumstances: a student is telling another student of their plans to go study, asking another student to go with them to study, if they are going to class at one of the classrooms in the library, or if they are going to look for a book for a research project. The Baker/Berry Library is considered the main library on campus and 3FB is one of the more popular study locations on campus. This term (Fall 2021) in particular with many students returning to Dartmouth for the first time since the pandemic, the term “3FB” has been used in the context of complaints about how crowded it is given the large number of students on campus. It is also generally accepted to be a quiet study area, but has recently been louder than usual, much to the annoyance of other students who are trying to get work done there.

Item:

  • The acronym “3FB” stands for Third Floor Berry. This is a floor in the Baker/Berry library, the main library at Dartmouth College. For example, a student will say, “I’m going to 3FB to study.”

Associated File:

  • Transcript: “I spend a lot of time in the library and my favorite study spot is 3FB. It’s facetimey but also quiet enough that you can actually study there. I would use it like “Hey wanna go study on 3FB?”. It’s an acronym for Third Floor Berry, so it can’t really be defined beyond that. I first learned it freshman year, I’m not sure from who exactly, but I heard a friend say it my first day on campus and didn’t know what it meant. Eventually that same day I asked someone and they told me what it stood for. Everyone on campus uses the phrase 3FB, it’s just what it’s called now. It probably came about since its one of the more popular study spots on campus and Third Floor Berry was being used so frequently that people got tired of saying it.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • I would highly recommend 3FB whether you want to seriously study or casually work while quietly chatting with friends.

Collector’s Comments:

  • RR mentioned the word “facetimey,” which is also defined in this project by another member of our team. This slang word refers to in this context locations where one goes when they want to be seen by others and socialize. I think it is interesting to consider the atmosphere of different study spaces on campus and if they are considered more quiet or social. It is also interesting to consider how this evolves and changes throughout the years, as this affects the contexts in which this piece of slang is used.

Collector’s Name: Annabel Revers

Tags/Keywords: Verbal Folklore, English, Students, Dartmouth, Slang, Libraries, Acronyms