General Information:
Verbal Lore, Slang
Language: English
Country of Origin: United States
Informant: AK
Date Collected: 11/5/2021
Location Collected: Dorm Room
Informant Data: AK is a member of the Class of 2023 at Dartmouth College. She is a Creative Writing major and Computer Science minor, and she rows for the Women’s Crew team. AK is from San Francisco, California, and enjoys running and hanging out with friends
Contextual Data:
Social Context: This slang is used typically when describing a route to get from one place to another. It is not usually used over text, but is said in person when two or more people are discussing. This phrase is used often among members of the women’s crew team, and is probably used more during cold weather.
Cultural Context: Hanover, especially in the winter, is extremely cold. Dartmouth also has many clusters of buildings that can impede travel. Therefore, in the cold, it makes sense for students to cut through buildings while moving around campus. Its connotation is neutral.
Item: Warm cut; an indoor travel route that avoids the cold weather outside. Example: Sorry I was a second late, I took a warm cut through Robinson Hall.
Quotes from Informant: The warm cut definition is “walking through a warm building you normally wouldn’t enter when it’s cold outside to stay warmer. An example is “I walk through the library on the way to class.” She learned it “Freshman year from a teammate who would beep us into her dorm as a warm cut.” She’s “not sure” who uses it, but “definitely [her] whole sports team.” She said it developed “Because it’s a spin on the word short cut but it’s warm.”
Informant’s Comments: AK said she likes this word because it is unique to Dartmouth students and fits the small campus nature. She learned this phrase freshman year.
Collector’s Comments: I know this word and also really like it. Hearing it now reminds me of the beautiful winter time. It is also a word that people outside of Dartmouth would not understand, so I enjoy the uniqueness. It is also definitely used by way more people than just her sports team. Probably the whole campus uses it.
Collector’s Name: Harry Grigorian