General Information:

         Verbal Lore, Slang

         Language: English

         Country of Origin: United States

         Informant: LG

         Date Collected: 11/4/2021

         Location Collected: Dorm Room over a FaceTime Call

Informant Data: LG is a ’23 from Maui, Hawaii. She is 20 years old, and a Government and Geography double major. She is a member of the equestrian team.

Contextual Data:

Social Context: Good sam is used when someone is under the influence to the point that medical assistance is required. It is rarely used by people on campus, as people rarely drink to the point where they need to go to the hospital. All of campus knows this word.

Cultural Context: Good sam is a program used by Dartmouth to encourage safety. If you good sam someone you are exempt from getting into any trouble for underage drinking. Dartmouth students often use this in a joking manner, saying things such as “slow down we don’t want to have to good sam you”. Most students learn this early on during their freshman year, as it is a matter of safety stressed by the college. It has a negative connotation, and can often be a source of shame if you are “good sam’ed”.

Item: Good Sam: To call 911 and request medical assistance for someone who has had too much to drink or is otherwise incapacitated. Example: “John had too much to drink last night so we had to good sam him”.

Associated File: Notable quotes

“Good sam means to call the hospital for someone who has had too much to drink at a party or a night out”.

“Yeah the term is often used when someone is drinking a lot and we want to tell them to slow down, saying something like ‘don’t want to have to good sam you'”.

Informant’s Comments: LG said she has luckily never had to use this word herself on campus.

Collector’s Comments: I have never had any experience with using good sam directly, but friends of mine have. It is certainly a negative word, and people talk about others getting good sam’ed and spread rumors about it.

Collector’s Name: Ben Ryan