General Cadet Life

Phrase

Years

Rough Definition

4-C

-

- 4th Class deficiency report.  To add to the humiliation, usually had to bring it to upperclassmen yourself: "Get me a 4-C, beanhead!"

Aluminum U.

-

- US Air Force Academy.  Inhabited by Zoomies.

Area Tour

-

- One hour of full-dress punishment marching.  Not open to the general public.
- Area Bird / Yard Bird: Cadet on area tours.

B.P.

-

- Barracks Police (the janitor)

Beanhead, Beaner

-

- See "Plebe."

Beverage Corporal

Pre-2000

- Plebe responsible for distributing drinks at a meal.

Big Bites

-

- Allowing plebes to eat large portions, usually a reward for exceptional performance.

Blue Dart

-

- The paper upon which demerits and/or area tours are presented.

Brace

Pre-Enlightenment

- Cranking the neck back.

Brown Boy / Green Girl

Brown: Pre-'70s
Green: '70s +

- Issued comforter placed at the foot of your "rack."

BOHICA

-

- "Bend over, here it comes again!"

Boodle

-

- Yummy snacks.  Usually hidden during SAMI.

Cadetiquette

-

- Cadet etiquette

Calls

 '50s (?)

- Hazing by upperclassmen

Canoe U.

-

- US Naval Academy.  Inhabited by Squids.

Century Man

-

- Cadet with 100+ area tours.  Usually your roommate.

Cliff Hangers

-

- Women from Ladycliff (Women's school that used to be just outside Thayer  Gate)

- Seekers of an M.R.S. degree.

Clothing Formation

-

- A form of hazing; wear every uniform you have.

Comm

-

- Commandant of Cadets

Cow

-

- A junior

Dicked

-

- When another cadet causes you to take the blame for something, or somehow does you wrong.

Divisions

-

- Old South Barracks.  So-called because the companies were aligned vertically.

Drag

 '60s +

- Your date
- Dragging Pro: a good-looking date
- Dragging D: a deficient-looking date

Dress-off

-

- Removing all shirt wrinkles from the beltline.  Best performed in teams of two (at least for beanheads).

Drinkin' ?

 '70s-'80s

- "You want something to drink with that calzone?"

Dumb Squat

 '40s-'50s

- Any gross plebe

Firstie

- A senior

Flankers

-

- Tall cadets
- (1940-50 era): Assigned to companies A1-C1 and G2-M2 (thus flanking the corps in parades)

Flirty

-

- Flirtation Walk

Floater

-

- Someone looking for an open Mess Hall seat.

Found

-

- Convicted of an honor violation

Get-over

-

- Someone who manages to constantly escape unpleasent duty

Ghost

-

- Someone who hides from duties / responsibilities

Gig, Gigged

-

- Receive demerits

Goldcoats

-

- Enlisted techs working in Washington Hall

"Good boodle, white trou"

-

- Said when something good is in the offing.

"Grab some wrinkles!"

Pre-Enlightenment

- Order to brace

Grant Hall Susie

-

- Generic term for a young lady who wishes to meet cadets.

Grey Hog

-

- A cadet or grad who openly displays pride in being a West Pointer.

Gunner

Pre-2000

- Plebe responsible for evenly distributing dessert at a meal.

Hamster

-

- Chicken Kiev (as served in the Cadet Mess).

Hudson Hips

Post-1976

- Condition resulting when female cadets gain excess weight.

Ike-ette

-

- Girl shipped in from an outside school

Intra-murder

-

- Intramurals

IRP

-

- "Immediate Response, Please!"

"It's better to give than receive"

-

- Sign over plebe boxing ring

Lost 50's

-

- Cadet barracks near the gym

Marking your Card

 '70s +

- Setting the sliding indicator of your (intended) whereabouts.  Located just inside barracks door.

Match Out

-

- Method of winning leftover dessert or avoiding extra duty.  Involves flipping knives or throwing fingers.  "I'll get you" or "You get me."

OAO

-

- One and Only.  Steady girlfriend.

OC

-

- Officer in Charge

PDA

-

- Public Display of Affection

Plebe

- A freshman.  See also "Beanhead," "Beaner," "Smack," etc.

PMI

-

- Evening (PM) inspection standards.  Much more lax than SAMI.

Poop

-

- Knowledge or information.

"Pop it up!"

-

- Stick out your chest, i.e., "Good Job"

"Pride of the Corps"

-

- Part of the anatomy of George Washington's horse

Punch Cards

Pre-1990s

- Meal cards

Quill

-

- USMA Form 2-1.  Used to "write up" cadets for improper performance.

Rack

-

- Cadet's bed.
- Rack monster: what makes one sleepy (strikes after almost ANY activity).

Recognize

-

- Acknowledge by handshake that a plebe is actually a person.
- Ends plebes' time of being hazed.

Red Boy

 '50s (?)

- Red comforter

Religions

 '50s (?)

- Catholic cadet = Mackerel Snapper
- Jewish cadet = Ham Dodger
- Protestant cadet = Mountain Climber

Room Orderly

-

- Cadet responsible for common areas during inspection.  Stuckee for those demerits.

Rubbers

-

- Overshoes

Runts

-

- Short cadets
- (1940-50 era): Assigned to companies G1-M1 and A2-C2 (thus center of the corps in parades)

SAMI

-

- Saturday morning (AM) Inspection.  Source of many demerits.

- Antonym: "PMI"

Schimmelpfennig Sauce

 '40s

- Sauce made of any/all condiments on the table.  Invented by Cadet Schimmelpfennig to put on "turkey"

Sinks

-

- Basement locker rooms

Slug

-

- Receipt of severe punishment.  Usually demerits plus area tours.  (Ex: "8 & 8")

- Someone who doesn't try / care

Smack / Smackhead

-

- See "Plebe"

-

- Sugar Smacks: The all-plebe women's basketball team (1976 only)

Smirk

-

- Expression caused by trying not to laugh.  As in "Wipe that smirk off!"

Sammy Bird

 '40s-'50s

- Sculpture consisting of sammy (syrup) pitcher, salt and pepper shakers, and a napkin

Spaz

-

- Clueless cadet

Spec

-

- Memorize.
- "Blow your spec": forget, space out.

Square Meal

Pre-Enlightenment

- Eating at attention and using right-angle arm movements

Squid

-

- USNA midshipman

Stack Tables

-

- Stack tables to the ceiling in the Mess Hall.

Stoops

-

- The porch in front of Old South Barracks (aka, the Divisions)

STRAC

-

- Squared away.  Military in appearance or manner.

Striper Dog

-

- A cadet of high rank.

Supe

-

- Superintendant

"Swim to Newburg"

 '40s-'50s

- A form of hazing; Plebe climbs onto alcove rail, lies across it, and "swims" until told to stop.

Tar Bucket

-

- Parade hat; shako

Template

-

- Device used to cut a cake or pie into any number of equal portions.  Kept in your hat.

The Days

-

- "Sir, there are <n> and a butt days until <event>..."  Repeat up to 365 times.  Always end with the number of days until the Firsties graduate.

Tool

-

- Cadet that knows all

Turkey

 '40s +

- Either roast turkey, or hash

Turnback

-

- Cadet on the 5-year plan.  Academically recycled cadet, especially from plebe year.

Uniform Flag

-

- Used to communicate uniform to wear, especially when weather is doubtful.

Validate (a condiment)

-

- Cause something to quickly disappear by ingestion.

White Tornado

-

- A form of hazing; to eat every condiment on the table.

Woops

-

- West Point.  

- Also: "Woo-Poo U.," "Rock-bound Highland Home," "Hudson High," "South Hudson Institute of Technology," "the *Un-College," etc.

Write Up

-

- To document deficiencies on a cadet, such that he/she receives demerits.

Yearling

-

- A sophomore.

Zoomie

-

- USAFA cadet, or USMA cadet being commissioned in the USAF (thru Class of '76)

-

Special Academic Section

Phrase

Years

2.0 and Go

Pre-1980s

- Just enough to get by academically under the old 3.0 system. (see "Tangent")

Art

-

- History of the Military Art. NOT the study of military paintings and statues!

- aka, "Plato to NATO"

Clouds

-

- Climatology 101

D

-

- Deficient

Dirt

-

- Terrain Analysis

Ejection Seat

-

- The last seat in the last section of a course.  (When all sections and seats were in class-rank order.)

- Occupied by potential Summer School candidates.

GR / WPR

-

- General Review / Written Parital Review (Finals)

Green Death

?

- Freshman Calculus

Goat

-

- Academically lower-ranking cadet. 

- Opposite of "Star Man."

-

- Class Goat: the very last man in a class.

Hive

-

- Hard-studying cadet.  To study.

Juice

-

- Electrical Engineering.  The bane of "Cows."

Mahon-athon

-

- 10-min race from a class on the 3rd Basement level to the next class on the 6th floor of Mahon Hall.

OPE

-

- Office of Physical Education (and/or torture)

Physics for Poets and Lovers

-

- Physics Appreciation course

Plebe Drowning

-

- Mandatory first-year swimming class

Plug and Chug

-

- Put numbers in an equation and get the answer.  No understanding of the concepts involved is necessary

Pro, P

-

- Proficient.  Usually implies "barely" proficient.
- Antonym: "D"; deficient

RD = FC

-

- Rough Draft equals Final Copy

Rocks for Jocks

-

- Geology 101

Rock Squad

-

- Non-swimmers

Soc. Run

-

- Mad dash to turn in your Soc. paper on time.  (Pronounced "soash")

SP / DNF / DNA

-

- Seen on English papers.  Spelling error / Does not follow / Does not apply

"Stagger Desks!"

-

- Prepare for a pop quiz.  Can cause severe anxiety in Goats.

Star Man

-

- Cadet in the academic top 5%.

"Take Boards!"

-

- Prepare to show work and/or equations and/or lack of knowledge on one of the ubiquitous blackboards.

Tangent

-

- Barely passing; test grade or GPA of exactly 2.0.

ToPo

-

- Military Topography & Graphics Dept.

Writ

-

- Written exam