A Guide to Dartmouth Lingo
For a freshman entering college for the first time, the adjustment from high school can often feel overwhelming. There are so many new experiences that it can be difficult to balance classes, social life and extracurricular activities. Some might argue that figuring out your future should be your priority at Dartmouth, but I would say that an equally (if not more) important task is keeping up with the lingo. No one liked having to ask their cool trip leader what getting “golden tree’d” is, and so to help our incoming ’21s maintain the illusion of not being the worst class ever, here is a quick guide to the Dartmouth slang they might encounter at Dimensions and beyond.
@now: Pronounced “at now,” as in “let’s go somewhere right now.”
i.e. Free Food @Now (a popular GroupMe on campus)
“want to play pong @now?”
Courtesy of Fox via giphy.com
A-Side/B-side: Rankings that are not clearly defined, but indicate “top-tier” versus “second-tier” versions of organizations. Whether or not Dartbeat is A-Side, we’ll leave up to you.
Baker/Berry: The main library, with the floors (FFB/2FB/3FB/4FB) usually getting quieter as you go up. FFB is where people go to be rowdy and do fake work.
Blitz: the name for Dartmouth’s email server and/or sending an email.
e.g. “check your blitz” or “I blitzed him a week ago”
Flitz: A flirty blitz. A successful flitz usually involves GIFs, rhymes and/or wit.
Blobby: Baker Lobby. The most likely place to run into your trippee, freshman floormate and lab partner within a 5-minute span.
Collis: Another dining hall, conveniently located about 10 feet from Foco. Notable for Late Night, with popular options including mac and cheese bites and mozzarella (“mozz”) sticks.
Facetime: A generic term for being seen and known on campus. People who are “facetimey,” join a lot of clubs or study in busy areas like FFB and Blobby. Flexing your facetime game and being extra often go hand-in-hand.
e.g. “She was on H-croo and Dimensions? Talk about facetime.”
Courtesy of reddit.com via giphy.com
Flair: A brightly-colored, tacky, vintage or otherwise noticeable article of clothing worn during special events at Dartmouth, such as Trips or rush. Upperclassmen often “bequest” their flair to underclassmen before graduating. Examples of flair include tutus, animal costumes and neon leggings.
Foco: The main dining hall, short for “Food Court.” The “dark side” is typically where sports teams sit while NARPs (Non-athletic regular people) can often be found on the “light side.” Pro tip: don’t ask where “The Class of 1953 Commons” is.
Fracket: A (usually) cheap jacket used for going to the frats, because something about the -10 degree weather brings out the kleptomaniac in all of us. Wearing a Canada Goose to TDX is a mistake that not many people repeat twice.
KAF: Sells the best coffee on campus. If you go there frequently, welcome to the DBA debt spiral.
Layup: An easy class. The “Layup List” is a popular unofficial course review site.
Courtesy of barstoolsports.com via giphy.com
Novack: If your host takes you here to eat, I’m so sorry.
Pong: A drinking game of wit, skill and tradition played in every frat/sorority basement on campus. It involves cups, usually of Keystone Light (Dartmouth’s beer of choice), arranged on each side of the table. Players use paddles and try to either hit or sink the cups on their opponents’ side, alternating between shots. If you suggest playing Beirut at any respectable Dartmouth establishment, there’s a good chance of your acceptance being rescinded.
Pong has such a presence at Dartmouth that there are several specialized terms you should know before attempting to partake:
Shrub: an arrangement of seven cups on each side, roughly in the shape of a pine tree.
Tree: a bigger version of shrub with 11 cups on each side.
Golden-tree’d: when one team does not hit or sink a single cup.
Silver-tree’d: when one team does not get rid of any cups (but has hit a minimum of one cup).
Line: the number of people waiting to play. If line is more then four, you probably won’t get on table anytime soon.
Low: a shot that goes below the shoulder, usually calling for a re-serve.
Half-cup to half-cup: when a game comes down to a single half-cup on both sides. If this happens, you’ll often witness all four players take off their shirts. Act natural and enjoy the show.
Courtesy of uberpong.com via giphy.com
S&S: Safety and Security, Dartmouth’s campus security officers. Often spotted on frat row and known for its “Good Sam” policy, which allows students to call for help with someone who is dangerously drunk without fear of disciplinary action.
Tender Queso: A Hop quesadilla with chicken tenders (but there’s an unspoken ban on calling it that). Ordering at the Hop without judgment involves more slang than I have space for, and I’ve found that the best approach is trial and error.
Trips: The DOC’s pre-orientation program for incoming freshmen, involving three days of hiking/biking/kayaking (or doing poetry if you’re ~alt~) in the woods, culminating in dinner at the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge hosted by “Lodj Croo.”
Wallstar: An extremely active member of the class Facebook group. If there‘s digital facetime, they‘re living it.
There’s more to learn, but hopefully this list can help the prospies feel a little less lost when their hosts ask them to “meet in dark side Foco @now for maximum facetime.”