If students are quick and alert in a mental way their slang is accordingly characterized and some of their daring metaphors are sometimes so good that the slang finds its way into common use in the outside world. We are hearing on every hand just now the words “grind,” “bone,” “plug,” and “cram,” and although to an outsider these might not convey the proper meaning it is safe to say that every college man knows their meaning, as well as what “riding” a pony is, or “flunking” an “exam.” Co-education furnishes most amusing terms. A female student is a “co-ed,” or “hen.” A dormitory for women is a hen or quail roost, while a cushioned seat or a hammock is a “spoon-holder.”
The vocabulary of the average college student is certainly both interesting and amusing.
A look at current collegiate slang
Published June 4, 1996
