Acronym | Dartmouth Folklore Archive

Title: 3FB

General Information:

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

Dartmouth Folklore Archive