This word was introduced into the older American colleges from Cambridge, England, and was used for many years, as was also the wordsizing, with the same meaning. In 1750, the Corporation of Harvard College voted, "that the quantity of commons be as hath been usual, viz. twosizesof bread in the morning; one pound of meat at dinner, with sufficient sauce [vegetables], and a half-pint of beer; and at night that a part pie be of the same quantity as usual, and also half a pint of beer; and that the supper messes be but of four parts, though the dinner messes be of six."—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Coll., Vol. II. p. 97.
The students of that day, if we may judge from the accounts which we have of their poor commons, would have used far different words, in addressing the Faculty, from King Lear, who, speaking to his daughter Regan, says:—
"'T is not in theeTo grudge my pleasures,…… to scant mysizes."
SIZE. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., tosizeis to order any sort of victuals from the kitchens which the students may want in their rooms, or in addition to their commons in the hall, and for which they pay the cooks or butchers at the end of each quarter; a word corresponding to BATTEL at Oxford.—Encyc. Brit.
In the Gentleman's Magazine, 1795, p. 21, a writer says: "At dinner, tosizeis to order for yourself any little luxury that may chance to tempt you in addition to the general fare, for which you are expected to pay the cook at the end of the term."
This word was formerly used in the older American colleges with the meaning given above, as will be seen by the following extracts from the laws of Harvard and Yale.
"When they come into town after commons, they may be allowed tosizea meal at the kitchen."—Laws of Harv. Coll., 1798, p. 39.
"At the close of each quarter, the Butler shall make up his bill against each student, in which every articlesizedor taken up by him at the Buttery shall be particularly charged."—Laws Yale Coll., 1811, p. 31.
"As a college term," says the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, "it is of very considerable antiquity. In the comedy called 'The Return from Parnassus,' 1606, one of the character says, 'You that are one of the Devil's Fellow-Commoners; one thatsizeththe Devil's butteries,' &c. Again, in the same: 'Fidlers, I use tosizemy music, or go on the score for it.'"
Foris often used after the verbsize, without changing the meaning of the expression.
The tables of the Undergraduates, arranged according to their respective years, are supplied with abundance of plain joints, and vegetables, and beer and alead libitum, besides which, soup, pastry, and cheese can be "sized for," that is, brought in portions to individuals at an extra charge.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 19.
To size upon another. To order extra food, and without permission charge it to another's account.
If any one shallsize upon another, he shall be fined a Shilling, and pay the Damage; and every Freshman sent [for victuals] must declare that he who sends him is the only Person to be charged.—Laws Yale Coll., 1774, p. 10.
SIZING. Extra food or drink ordered from the buttery; the act of ordering extra food or drink from the buttery.
Dr. Holyoke, who graduated at Harvard College in 1746, says: "The breakfast was twosizingsof bread and a cue of beer." Judge Wingate, who graduated a little later, says: "We were allowed at dinner a cue of beer, which was a half-pint, and asizingof bread, which I cannot describe to you. It was quite sufficient for one dinner."—Peirce's Hist. Harv. Univ., p. 219.
From more definite accounts it would seem that a sizing of biscuit was one biscuit, and a sizing of cracker, two crackers. A certain amount of food was allowed to each mess, and if any person wanted more than the allowance, it was the custom to tell the waiter to bring a sizing of whatever was wished, provided it was obtained from the commons kitchen; for this payment was made at the close of the term. A sizing of cheese was nearly an ounce, and a sizing of cider varied from a half-pint to a pint and a half.
The Steward shall, at the close of every quarter, immediately fill up the columns of commons andsizings, and shall deliver the bill, &c.—Laws Harv. Coll., 1798, p. 58.
The Butler shall frequently inspect his book ofsizings.—Ibid., p. 62.
Whereas young scholars, to the dishonor of God, hinderance of their studies, and damage of their friends' estate, inconsiderately and intemperately are ready to abuse their liberty ofsizingbesides their commons; therefore the Steward shall in no case permit any students whatever, under the degree of Masters of Arts, or Fellows, to expend or be provided for themselves or any townsmen any extraordinary commons, unless by the allowance of the President, &c., or in case of sickness.—Orders written 28th March, 1650.—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 583.
This term, together with the verb and nounsize, which had been in use at Harvard and Yale Colleges since their foundation, has of late been little heard, and with the extinction of commons has, with the others, fallen wholly, and probably for ever, into disuse.
The use of this word and its collaterals is still retained in theUniversity of Cambridge, Eng.
Along the wall you see two tables, which, though less carefully provided than the Fellows', are still served with tolerable decency, and go through a regular second course instead of the "sizings."—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 20.
SIZING PARTY. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., where this term is used, a "sizing party" says the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, "differs from a supper in this; viz. at a sizing party every one of the guests contributes hispart, i.e. orders what he pleases, at his own expense, to his friend's rooms,—'apartof fowl' or duck; a roasted pigeon; 'apartof apple pie.' A sober beaker of brandy, or rum, or hollands and water, concludes the entertainment. In our days, a bowl of bishop, or milk punch, with a chant, generally winds up the carousal."
SKIN. At Yale College, to obtain a knowledge of a lesson by hearing it read by another; also, to borrow another's ideas and present them as one's own; to plagiarize; to become possessed of information in an examination or a recitation by unfair or secret means. "In our examinations," says a correspondent, "many of the fellows cover the palms of their hands with dates, and when called upon for a given date, they read it off directly from their hands. Such personsskin."
The tutor employs the crescent when it is evident that the lesson has beenskinned, according to the college vocabulary, in which case he usually puts a minus sign after it, with the mark which he in all probability would have used had not the lesson beenskinned.—Yale Banger, Nov. 1846.
Neverskina lesson which it requires any ability to learn.—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XV. p. 81.
He has passively admitted what he hasskinnedfrom other grammarians.—Yale Banger, Nov. 1846.
Perhaps the youth who so barefacedlyskinnedthe song referred to, fondly fancied, &c.—The Tomahawk, Nov. 1849.
He uttered that remarkable prophecy which Horace has so boldlyskinnedand called his own.—Burial of Euclid, Nov. 1850.
A Pewter medal is awarded in the Senior Class, for the most remarkable example ofskinnedComposition.—Burlesque Catalogue, Yale Coll., 1852-53, p. 29.
Classical men were continually tempted to "skin" (copy) the solutions of these examples.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 381.
To skin ahead; at Hamilton College, to read a lesson over in the class immediately before reciting.
SKIN. A lesson learned by hearing it read by another; borrowed ideas; anything plagiarized.
'T was plenty ofskinwith a good deal of Bohn.[65]Songs, Biennial Jubilee, Yale Coll., 1855.
SKINNING. Learning, or the act of learning, a lesson by hearing it read by another; plagiarizing.
Alas for our beloved orations! acquired byskinning, looking on, and ponies.—Yale Banger, Oct. 1848.
Barefaced copying from books and reviews in their compositions is familiar to our students, as much so as "skinning" their mathematical examples.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 394.
SKUNK. At Princeton College, to fail to pay a debt; used actively; e.g. toskunka tailor, i.e. not to pay him.
SLANG. To scold, chide, rebuke. The use of this word as a verb is in a measure peculiar to students.
These drones are posted separately as "not worthy to be classed," and privatelyslangedafterwards by the Master and Seniors.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 74.
"I am afraid of going to T———," you may hear it said; "he don'tslanghis men enough."—Ibid., p. 148.
His vanity is sure to be speedily checked, and first of all by his private tutor, who "slangs" him for a mistake here or an inelegancy there.—Ibid., p. 388.
SLANGING. Abusing, chiding, blaming.
As he was not backward inslanging,—one of the requisites of a good coach,—he would give it to my unfortunate composition right and left.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 166.
SLEEPING OVER. A phrase equivalent to being absent from prayers.
You may see some who have just arisen from their beds, where they have enjoyed the luxury of "sleeping over."—Harv. Reg., p. 202.
SLOW. An epithet of depreciation, especially among students.
Its equivalent slang is to be found in the phrases, "no great shakes," and "small potatoes."—Bristed.
One very well disposed and very tipsy man who was great upon boats, but veryslowat books, endeavored to pacify me.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 82.
The Juniors vainly attempted to showThat Sophs and Seniors were somewhatslowIn talent and ability.Sophomore Independent, Union College, Nov. 1854.
SLOW-COACH. A dull, stupid fellow.
SLUM. A word once in use at Yale College, of which a graduate of the year 1821 has given the annexed explanation. "That noted dish to which our predecessors, of I know not what date, gave the name ofslum, which was our ordinary breakfast, consisting of the remains of yesterday's boiled salt-beef and potatoes, hashed up, and indurated in a frying-pan, was of itself enough to have produced any amount of dyspepsia. There are stomachs, it may be, which can put up with any sort of food, and any mode of cookery; but they are not those of students. I remember an anecdote which President Day gave us (as an instance of hasty generalization), which would not be inappropriate here: 'A young physician, commencing practice, determined to keep an account of each case he had to do with, stating the mode of treatment and the result. His first patient was a blacksmith, sick of a fever. After the crisis of the disease had passed, the man expressed a hankering for pork and cabbage. The doctor humored him in this, and it seemed to do him good; which was duly noted in the record. Next a tailor sent for him, whom he found suffering from the same malady. To him heprescribedpork and cabbage; and the patient died. Whereupon, he wrote it down as a general law in such cases, that pork and cabbage will cure a blacksmith, but will kill a tailor.' Now, though the son of Vulcan found the pork and cabbage harmless, I am sure thatslumwould have been a match for him."—Scenes and Characters at College, New Haven, 1847, p. 117.
SLUMP. Germanschlump; Danish and Swedishslump, a hap or chance, an accident; that is, a fall.
At Harvard College, a poor recitation.
SLUMP. At Harvard College, to recite badly; to make a poor recitation.
In fact, he'd rather dead than dig;he'd ratherslumpthan squirt.Poem before the Y.H. of Harv. Coll., 1849.
Slumpingis his usual custom,Deading is his road to fame.—MS. Poem.
At recitations, unprepared, heslumps,Then cuts a week, and feigns he has the mumps.MS. Poem, by F.E. Felton.
The usual signification of this word is given by Webster, as follows: "To fall or sink suddenly into water or mud, when walking on a hard surface, as on ice or frozen ground, not strong enough to bear the person." To which he adds: "This legitimate word is in common and respectable use in New England, and its signification is so appropriate, that no other word will supply its place."
From this meaning, the transfer is, by analogy, very easy and natural, and the application very correct, to a poor recitation.
SMALL-COLLEGE. The name by which an inferior college in theEnglish universities is known.
A "Small-College" man was Senior Wrangler.—Bristed's FiveYears in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 61.
SMALL-COLLEGER. A member of a Small-College.
The two Latin prizes and the English poem [were carried off] by aSmall-Colleger.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 113.
The idea of aSmall-Collegerbeating all Trinity was deemed preposterous.—Ibid., p. 127.
SMALLS, or SMALL-GO. At the University of Oxford, an examination in the second year. See LITTLE-GO; PREVIOUS EXAMINATION.
At theSmalls, as the previous Examination is here called, each examiner sends in his Greek and Latin book.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 139.
It follows that theSmallsis a more formidable examination than the Little-Go.—Ibid., p. 139.
SMASH. At the Wesleyan University, a total failure in reciting is called asmash.
SMILE. A small quantity of any spirituous liquor, or enough to give one a pleasant feeling.
Hast ta'en a "smile" at Brigham's.Poem before the Iadma, 1850, p. 7.
SMOKE. In some colleges, one of the means made use of by the Sophomores to trouble the Freshmen is to blow smoke into their rooms until they are compelled to leave, or, in other words, until they aresmoked out. When assafoetida is mingled with the tobacco, the sensation which ensues, as the foul effluvium is gently wafted through the keyhole, is anything but pleasing to the olfactory nerves.
Or when, in conclave met, the unpitying wightsSmokethe young trembler into "College rights": O spare my tender youth! he, suppliant, cries, In vain, in vain; redoubled clouds arise, While the big tears adown his visage roll, Caused by the smoke, and sorrow of his soul.College Life, by J.C. Richmond, p. 4.
They would lock me in if I left my key outside,smoke me out, duck me, &c.—Sketches of Williams College, p. 74.
I would not have you sacrifice all these advantages for the sakeof smokingfuture Freshmen.—Burial of Euclid, 1850, p. 10.
A correspondent from the University of Vermont gives the following account of a practical joke, which we do not suppose is very often played in all its parts. "They 'train' Freshmen in various ways; the mostclassicis to take a pumpkin, cut a piece from the top, clean it, put in two pounds of 'fine cut,' put it on the Freshman's table, and then, all standing round with long pipe-stems, blow into it the fire placed in thetobac, and so fill the room with smoke, then put the Freshman to bed, with the pumpkin for a nightcap."
SMOUGE. At Hamilton College, to obtain without leave.
SMUT. Vulgar, obscene conversation. Language which obtains
"Where Bacchus ruleth all that's done,And Venus all that's said."
SMUTTY. Possessing the qualities of obscene conversation. Applied also to the person who uses such conversation.
SNOB. In the English universities, a townsman, as opposed to a student; or a blackguard, as opposed to a gentleman; a loafer generally.—Bristed.
They charged theSnobsagainst their will,And shouted clear and lustily.Gradus ad Cantab, p. 69.
Used in the same sense at some American colleges.
2. A mean or vulgar person; particularly, one who apes gentility. —Halliwell.
Used both in England and the United States, "and recently," saysWebster, "introduced into books as a term of derision."
SNOBBESS. In the English universities, a femalesnob.
Effeminacies like these, induced, no doubt, by the flattering admiration of the fairsnobbesses.—Alma Mater, Vol. II. p. 116.
SNOBBISH. Belonging to or resembling asnob.
SNOBBY. Low; vulgar; resembling or pertaining to asnob.
SNUB. To reprimand; check; rebuke. Used among students, more frequently than by any other class of persons.
SOPH. In the University of Cambridge, England, an abbreviation ofSOPHISTER.—Webster.
On this word, Crabb, in hisTechnological Dictionary, says: "A certain distinction or title which undergraduates in the University at Oxford assume, previous to their examination for a degree. It took its rise in the exercises which students formerly had to go through, but which are now out of use."
Three CollegeSophs, and three pert Templars came,The same their talents, and their tastes the same.Pope's Dunciad, B. II. v. 389, 390.
2. In the American colleges, an abbreviation of Sophomore.
Sophswha ha' in Commons fed!Sophswha ha' in Commons bled!Sophswha ne'er from Commons fled!Puddings, steaks, or wines!Rebelliad, p. 52.
TheSophsdid nothing all the first fortnight but torment theFresh, as they call us.—Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 76.
TheSophswere victorious at every point.—Yale Banger, Nov. 10, 1846.
My Chum, aSoph, says he committed himself too soon.—TheDartmouth, Vol. IV. p. 118.
SOPHIC. A contraction of sophomoric.
So then theSophicarmyCame on in warlike glee.The Battle of the Ball, 1853.
SOPHIMORE. The old manner of spelling what is now known asSOPHOMORE.
The President may give Leave for theSophimoresto take out some particular Books.—Laws Yale Coll., 1774, p. 23.
His favorite researches, however, are discernible in his observations on a comet, which appeared in the beginning of hisSophimoreyear.—Holmes's Life of Ezra Stiles, p. 13.
I aver thou hast never been a corporal in the militia, or asophimoreat college.—The Algerine Captive, Walpole, 1797, Vol. I. p. 68.
SOPHISH GOWN. Among certain gownsmen, a gown that bears the marks of much service; "a thing of shreds and patches."—Gradus ad Cantab.
SOPHIST. A name given to the undergraduates at Cambridge, England. —Crabb's Tech. Dict.
SOPHISTER. Greek, [Greek: sophistaes]. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., the title of students who are advanced beyond the first year of their residence. The entire course at the University consists of three years and one term, during which the students have the titles of First-Year Men, or Freshmen; Second-Year Men, or Junior Sophs or Sophisters; Third-Year Men, or Senior Sophs or Sophisters; and, in the last term, Questionists, with reference to the approaching examination. In the older American colleges, the Junior and Senior Classes were originally called Junior Sophisters and Senior Sophisters. The term is also used at Oxford and Dublin. —Webster.
And in case any of theSophistersfail in the premises required at their hands, &c.—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 518.
SOPHOMORE. One belonging to the second of the four classes in anAmerican college.
Professor Goodrich, in his unabridged edition of Dr. Webster's Dictionary, gives the following interesting account of this word. "This word has generally been considered as an 'American barbarism,' but was probably introduced into our country, at a very early period, from the University of Cambridge, Eng. Among the cant terms at that University, as given in the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, we findSoph-Moras 'the next distinctive appellation to Freshman.' It is added, that 'a writer in the Gentlemen's Magazine thinksmoran abbreviation of the Greek [Greek: moria], introduced at a time when theEncomium Moriæ, the Praise of Folly, by Erasmus, was so generally used.' The ordinary derivation of the word, from [Greek: sofos] and [Greek: moros] would seem, therefore, to be incorrect. The younger Sophs at Cambridge appear, formerly, to have received the adjunctmor([Greek: moros]) to their names, either as one which they courted for the reason mentioned above, or as one given them in sport, for the supposed exhibition of inflated feeling in entering on their new honors. The term, thus applied, seems to have passed, at a very early period, from Cambridge in England to Cambridge in America, as 'the next distinctive appellation to Freshman,' and thus to have been attached to the second of the four classes in our American colleges; while it has now almost ceased to be known, even as a cant word, at the parent institution in England whence it came. This derivation of the word is rendered more probable by the fact, that the early spelling was, to a great extent at least, Soph_i_more, as appears from the manuscripts of President Stiles of Yale College, and the records of Harvard College down to the period of the American Revolution. This would be perfectly natural ifSophorSophisterwas considered as the basis of the word, but can hardly be explained if the ordinary derivation had then been regarded as the true one."
Some further remarks on this word may be found in the Gentleman'sMagazine, above referred to, 1795, Vol. LXV. p. 818.
SOPHOMORE COMMENCEMENT. At Princeton College, it has long been the custom for the Sophomore Class, near the time of the Commencement at the close of the Senior year, to hold a Commencement in imitation of it, at which burlesque and other exercises, appropriate to the occasion, are performed. The speakers chosen are a Salutatorian, a Poet, an Historian, who reads an account of the doings of the Class up to that period, a Valedictorian, &c., &c. A band of music is always in attendance. After the addresses, the Class partake of a supper, which is usually prolonged to a very late hour. In imitation of the Sophomore Commencement,Burlesque Bills, as they are called, are prepared and published by the Juniors, in which, in a long and formal programme, such subjects and speeches are attributed to the members of the Sophomore Class as are calculated to expose their weak points.
SOPHOMORIC, SOPHOMORICAL. Pertaining to or like a Sophomore.
Better to face the prowling panther's path,Than meet the storm ofSophomoricwrath.Harvardiana, Vol. IV. p. 22.
We trust he will add by his example no significancy to that pithy word, "Sophomoric."—Sketches of Williams Coll., p. 63.
Another meaning, derived, it would appear, from the characteristics of the Sophomore, yet not very creditable to him, isbombastic, inflated in style or manner.—J.C. Calhoun.
Students are looked upon as being necessarilySophomoricalin literary matters.—Williams Quarterly, Vol. II. p. 84.
The Professor told me it was ratherSophomorical.—Sketches ofWilliams Coll., p. 74.
SOPHRONISCUS. At Yale College, this name is given to Arnold's Greek Prose Composition, from the fact of its repeated occurrence in that work.
Sophroniscumrelinquemus;Et Euclidem comburemus,Ejus vi soluti.Pow-wow of Class of '58, Yale Coll.
See BALBUS.
SPIRT. Among the students at the University of Cambridge, Eng., an extraordinary effort of mind or body for a short time. A boat's crewmake a spirt, when they pull fifty yards with all the strength they have left. A reading-manmakesa spirtwhen he crams twelve hours daily the week before examination.—Bristed.
As my … health was decidedly improving, I now attempted a "spirt," or what was one for me.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 223.
My amateur Mathematical coach, who was now making his lastspirtfor a Fellowship, used to accompany me.—Ibid., p. 288.
He reads nine hours a day on a "spirt" the fortnight before examination.—Ibid., p. 327.
SPIRTING. Making an extraordinary effort of mind or body for a short time.—Bristed.
Ants, bees, boat-crewsspirtingat the Willows,… are but faint types of their activity.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 224.
SPLURGE. In many colleges, when one is either dashy, or dressed more than ordinarily, he is said tocut a splurge. A showy recitation is often called by the same name. In his Dictionary of Americanisms, Mr. Bartlett defines it, "a great effort, a demonstration," which is the signification in which this word is generally used.
SPLURGY. Showy; of greater surface than depth. Applied to a lesson which is well rehearsed but little appreciated. Also to literary efforts of a certain nature, to character, persons, &c.
They even pronounce his speechessplurgy.—Yale Tomahawk, May, 1852.
SPOON. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., the last of each class of the honors is humorously denominatedThe Spoon. Thus, the last Wrangler is called the Golden Spoon; the last Senior Optime, the Silver Spoon; and the last Junior Optime, the Wooden Spoon. The Wooden Spoon, however, ispar excellence, "The Spoon."—Gradus ad Cantab.
See WOODEN SPOON.
SPOON, SPOONY, SPOONEY. A man who has been drinking till he becomes disgusting by his very ridiculous behavior, is said to bespoonydrunk; and hence it is usual to call a very prating, shallow fellow a rankspoon.—Grose.
Mr. Bartlett, in his Dictionary of Americanisms, says:—"We use the word only in the latter sense. The Hon. Mr. Preston, in his remarks on the Mexican war, thus quotes from Tom Crib's remonstrance against the meanness of a transaction, similar to our cries for more vigorous blows on Mexico when she is prostrate:
"'Look down upon Ben,—see him,dunghillall o'er,Insult the fallen foe that can harm him no more.Out, cowardlyspooney! Again and again,By the fist of my father, I blush for thee, Ben.'
"Ay, you will see all thespooneysthat ran, like so manydunghillchampions, from 54 40, stand by the President for the vigorous prosecution of the war upon the body of a prostrate foe." —N.Y. Tribune, 1847.
Now that year it so happened that the spoon was nospooney.—Alma Mater, Vol. I. p. 218.
Not a few of this party were deluded into a belief, that all studious and quiet men were slow, all men of proper self-respect exclusives, and all men of courtesy and good-breedingspoonies. —Collegian's Guide, p. 118.
Suppose that rustication was the fate of a few others of our acquaintance, whom you cannot call slow, orspoonieseither, would it be deemed no disgrace by them?—Ibid., p. 196.
Whenspoonyson two knees, implore the aid of sorcery,To suit their wicked purposes they quickly put the laws awry.Rejected Addresses, Am. ed., p. 154.
They belong to the class of elderly "spoons," with some few exceptions, and are nettled that the world should not go at their rate of progression.—Boston Daily Times, May 8, 1851.
SPOONY, SPOONEY. Like aspoon; possessing the qualities of a silly or stupid fellow.
I shall escape from this beautiful critter, for I'm gettin'spooney, and shall talk silly presently.—Sam Slick.
Both the adjective and the nounspooneyare in constant and frequent use at some of the American colleges, and are generally applied to one who is disliked either for his bad qualities or for his ill-breeding, usually accompanied with the idea of weakness.
He sprees, is caught, rusticates, returns next year, mingles with feminines, and is consequently degraded into thespooneyJunior.Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XV. p. 208.
A "bowl" was the happy conveyance. Perhaps this was chosen because the voyagers werespooney.—Yale Banger, Nov. 1849.
SPOOPS, SPOOPSY. At Harvard College, a weak, silly fellow, or one who is disliked on account of his foolish actions, is called aspoops, orspoopsy. The meaning is nearly the same as that ofspoony.
SPOOPSY. Foolish; silly. Applied either to a person or thing.
Seniors always try to be dignified. The term "spoopsey" in its widest signification applies admirably to them.—Yale Tomahawk, May, 1852.
SPORT. To exhibit or bring out in public; as, tosporta new equipage.—Grose.
This word was in great vogue in England in the year 1783 and 1784; but is now sacred to men offashion, both in England and America.
With regard to the wordsport, they [the Cantabrigians]sportedknowing, and theysportedignorant,—theysportedan Ægrotat, and theysporteda new coat,—theysportedan Exeat, theysporteda Dormiat, &c.—Gent. Mag., 1794, p. 1085.
I'm going to serve my country, Andsporta pretty wife.Presentation Day Songs, June 14, 1854, Yale Coll.
Tosport oak, or a door, is to fasten a door for safety or convenience.
If you call on a man and his door issported, signifying that he is out or busy, it is customary to pop your card through the little slit made for that purpose.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 336.
Some few constantly turn the keys of their churlish doors, and others, from time to time, "sport oak."—Harv. Mag., Vol. I. p. 268.
SPORTING-DOOR. At the English universities, the name given to the outer door of a student's room, which can besportedor fastened to prevent intrusion.
Their impregnablesporting-doors, that defy alike the hostile dun and the too friendly "fast man."—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 3.
SPREAD. A feast of a more humble description than a GAUDY. Used atCambridge, England.
This puts him in high spirits again, and he gives a largespread, and gets drunk on the strength of it.—Gradus ad Cantab., p. 129.
He sits down with all of them, about forty or fifty, to a most gloriousspread, ordered from the college cook, to be served up in the most swell style possible.—Ibid., p. 129.
SPROUT. Anybranchof education is in student phrase asprout.This peculiar use of the word is said to have originated at Yale.
SPRUNG. The positive, of whichtightis the comparative, anddrunkthe superlative.
"One swallow makes not spring," the poet sung,But many swallows make the fast mansprung.MS. Poem, by F.E. Felton.
See TIGHT.
SPY. In some of the American colleges, it is a prevailing opinion among the students, that certain members of the different classes are encouraged by the Faculty to report what they have seen or ascertained in the conduct of their classmates, contrary to the laws of the college. Many are stigmatized asspiesvery unjustly, and seldom with any sufficient reason.
SQUIRT. At Harvard College, a showy recitation is denominated asquirt; the ease and quickness with which the words flow from the mouth being analogous to the ease and quickness which attend the sudden ejection of a stream of water from a pipe. Such a recitation being generally perfect, the wordsquirtis very often used to convey that idea. Perhaps there is not, in the whole vocabulary of college cant terms, one more expressive than this, or that so easily conveys its meaning merely by its sound. It is mostly used colloquially.
2. A foppish young fellow; a whipper-snapper.—Bartlett.
If they won't keep company withsquirtsand dandies, who's going to make a monkey of himself?—Maj. Jones's Courtship, p. 160.
SQUIRT. To make a showy recitation.
He'd rather slump thansquirt.Poem before Y.H., p. 9.
Webster has this word with the meaning, "to throw out words, to let fly," and marks it as out of use.
SQUIRTINESS. The quality of being showy.
SQUIRTISH. Showy; dandified.
It's my opinion that these slicked upsquirtishkind a fellars ain't particular hard baked, and they always goes in for aristocracy notions.—Robb, Squatter Life, p. 73.
SQUIRTY. Showy; fond of display; gaudy.
Applied to an oration which is full of bombast and grandiloquence; to a foppish fellow; to an apartment gayly adorned, &c.
And should they "scrape" in prayers, because they are longAnd rather "squirty" at times.Childe Harvard, p. 58.
STAMMBOOK. German. A remembrance-book; an album. Among the German students stammbooks were kept formerly, as commonly as autograph-books now are among American students.
But do procure me the favor of thy Rapunzel writing something in myStammbook.—Howitt's Student Life of Germany, Am. ed., p. 242.
STANDING. Academical age, or rank.
Of whatstandingare you? I am a Senior Soph.—Gradus adCantab.
Her mother told me all about your love,And asked me of your prospects and yourstanding.Collegian, 1830, p. 267.
To stand for an honor; i.e. to offer one's self as a candidate for an honor.
STAR. In triennial catalogues a star designates those who have died. This sign was first used with this signification by Mather, in his Magnalia, in a list prepared by him of the graduates of Harvard College, with a fanciful allusion, it is supposed, to the abode of those thus marked.
Our tale shall be told by a silentstar,On the page of some future Triennial.Poem before Class of 1849, Harv. Coll., p. 4.
We had only to look still further back to find thestarsclustering more closely, indicating the rapid flight of the spirits of short-lived tenants of earth to another sphere.—Memories of Youth and Manhood, Vol. II. p. 66.
STAR. To mark a star opposite the name of a person, signifying that he is dead.
Six of the sixteen Presidents of our University have been inaugurated in this place; and the oldest living graduate, the Hon. Paine Wingate of Stratham, New Hampshire, who stands on the Catalogue a lonely survivor amidst thestarrednames of the dead, took his degree within these walls.—A Sermon on leaving the Old Meeting-house in Cambridge, by Rev. William Newell, Dec. 1, 1833, p. 22.
Among those fathers were the venerable remnants of classes that arestarredto the last two or three, or it may be to the last one.—Scenes and Characters in College, p. 6.
STATEMENT OF FACTS. At Yale College, a name given to a public meeting called for the purpose of setting forth the respective merits of the two great societies in that institution, viz. "Linonia" and "The Brothers in Unity." There are six orators, three from Linonia and three from the Brothers,—a Senior, a Junior, and the President of each society. The Freshmen are invited by handsomely printed cards to attend the meeting, and they also have the best seats reserved for them, and are treated with the most intense politeness. As now conducted, theStatement of Factsis any thing rather than what is implied by the name. It is simply an opportunity for the display of speaking talent, in which wit and sarcasm are considered of far greater importance than truth. The Freshmen are rarely swayed to either side. In nine cases out of ten they have already chosen their society, and attend the statement merely from a love of novelty and fun. The custom grew up about the year 1830, after the practice of dividing the students alphabetically between the two societies had fallen into disuse. Like all similar customs, the Statement of Facts has reached its present college importance by gradual growth. At first the societies met in a small room of the College, and the statements did really consist of the facts in the case. Now the exercises take place in a public hall, and form a kind of intellectual tournament, where each society, in the presence of a large audience, strives to get the advantage of the other.
From a newspaper account of the observance of this literary festival during the present year, the annexed extract is taken.
"For some years, students, as they have entered College, have been permitted to choose the society with which they would connect themselves, instead of being alphabetically allotted to one of the two. This method has made the two societies earnest rivals, and the accession of each class to College creates an earnest struggle to see which shall secure the greater number of members. The electioneering campaign, as it is termed, begins when the students come to be examined for admission to College, that is, about the time of the Commencement, and continues through a week or two of the first term of the next year. Each society, of course, puts forth the most determined efforts to conquer. It selects the most prominent and popular men of the Senior Class as President, and arrangements are so made that a Freshman no sooner enters town than he finds himself unexpectedly surrounded by hosts of friends, willing to do anything for him, and especially instruct him in his duty with reference to the selection of societies. For the benefit of those who do not yield to this private electioneering, this Statement of Facts is made. It amounts, however, to little more than a 'good time,' as there are very few who wait to be influenced by 'facts' they know will be so distorted. The advocates of each society feel bound, of course, to present its affairs in the most favorable aspect. Disputants are selected, generally with regard to their ability as speakers, one from the Junior and one from the Senior Class. The Presidents of each society also take part."—N.Y. Daily Times, Sept. 22, 1855.
As an illustration of the eloquence and ability which is often displayed on these occasions, the following passages have been selected from the address of John M. Holmes of Chicago, Ill., the Junior orator in behalf of the Brothers in Unity at the Statement of Facts held September 20th, 1855.
"Time forbids me to speak at length of the illustrious alumni of the Brothers; of Professor Thatcher, the favorite of college,—of Professor Silliman, the Nestor of American literati,—of the revered head of this institution, President Woolsey, first President of the Brothers in 1820,—of Professor Andrews, the author of the best dictionary of the Latin language,—of such divines as Dwight and Murdock,—of Bacon and Bushnell, the pride of New England,—or of the great names of Clayton, Badger, Calhoun, Ellsworth, and John Davis,—all of whom were nurtured and disciplined in the halls of the Brothers, and there received the Achillean baptism that made their lives invulnerable. But perhaps I err in claiming such men as the peculium of the Brothers,—they are the common heritage of the human race.
'Such names as theirs are pilgrim shrines,Shrines to no code nor creed confined,The Delphian vales, the Palestines,The Meccas of the mind.'
"But there are other names which to overlook would be worse than negligence,—it would be ingratitude unworthy of a son of Yale.
"At the head of that glorious host stands the venerable form of Joel Barlow, who, in addition to his various civil and literary distinctions, was the father of American poetry. There too is the intellectual brow of Webster, not indeed the great defender of the Constitution, but that other Webster, who spent his life in the perpetuation of that language in which the Constitution is embalmed, and whose memory will be coeval with that language to the latest syllable of recorded time. Beside Webster on the historic canvas appears the form of the only Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States that ever graduated at this College,—Chief Justice Baldwin, of the class of 1797. Next to him is his classmate, a patriarchal old man who still lives to bless the associations of his youth,—who has consecrated the noblest talents to the noblest earthly purposes,—the pioneer of Western education,—the apostle of Temperance,—the life-long teacher of immortality,—and who is the father of an illustrious family whose genius has magnetized all Christendom. His classmate is Lyman Beecher. But a year ago in the neighboring city of Hartford there was a monument erected to another Brother in Unity,—the philanthropist who first introduced into this country the system of instructing deaf mutes. More than a thousand unfortunates bowed around his grave. And although there was no audible voice of eulogy or thankfulness, yet there were many tears. And grateful thoughts went up to heaven in silent benediction for him who had unchained their faculties, and given them the priceless treasures of intellectual and social communion. Thomas H. Gallaudet was a Brother in Unity.
"And he who has been truly called the most learned of poets and the most poetical of learned men,—whose ascent to the heaven of song has been like the pathway of his own broad sweeping eagle,—J.G. Percival,—is a Brother in Unity. And what shall I say of Morse? Of Morse, the wonder-worker, the world-girdler, the space-destroyer, the author of the noblest invention whose glory was ever concentrated in a single man, who has realized the fabulous prerogative of Olympian Jove, and by the instantaneous intercommunication of thought has accomplished the work of ages in binding together the whole civilized world into one great Brotherhood in Unity?
"Gentlemen, these are the men who wait to welcome you to the blessings of our society. There they stand, like the majestic statues that line the entrance to an eternal pyramid. And when I look upon one statue, and another, and another, and contemplate the colossal greatness of their proportions, as Canova gazed with rapture upon the sun-god of the Vatican, I envy not the man whose heart expands not with the sense of a new nobility, and whose eye kindles not with the heart's enthusiasm, as he thinks that he too is numbered among that glorious company,—that he too is sprung from that royal ancestry. And who asks for a richer heritage, or a more enduring epitaph, than that he too is a Brother in Unity?"
S.T.B.Sanctæ Theologiæ Baccalaureus, Bachelor in Theology.
See B.D.
S.T.D.Sanctæ Theologiæ Doctor. Doctor in Theology.
See D.D.
STEWARD. In colleges, an officer who provides food for the students, and superintends the kitchen.—Webster.
In American colleges, the labors of the steward are at present more extended, and not so servile, as set forth in the above definition. To him is usually assigned the duty of making out the term-bills and receiving the money thereon; of superintending the college edifices with respect to repairs, &c.; of engaging proper servants in the employ of the college; and of performing such other services as are declared by the faculty of the college to be within his province.
STICK. In college phrase,to stick, orto get stuck, is to be unable to proceed, either in a recitation, declamation, or any other exercise. An instructor is said tosticka student, when he asks a question which the student is unable to answer.
But he has not yet discovered, probably, that he … that "sticks" in Greek, and cannot tell, by demonstration of his own, whether the three angles of a triangle are equal to two, or four, … can nevertheless drawl out the word Fresh, &c.—Scenes and Characters in College, p. 30.
S.T.P.Sanctæ Theologiæ Professor. Professor in Theology.
A degree of similar import to S.T.D., and D.D.
STUDENT. A person engaged in study; one who is devoted to learning, either in a seminary or in private; a scholar; as, thestudentsof an academy, of a college or university; a medicalstudent; a lawstudent.
2. A man devoted to books; a bookish man; as, a hardstudent; a closestudent.—Webster.
3. At Oxford, this word is used to designate one who stands upon the foundation of the college to which he belongs, and is an aspirant for academic emoluments.—De Quincey.
4. In German universities, bystudentis understood "one who has by matriculation acquired the rights of academical citizenship."—Howitt's Student Life of Germany, Am. ed., p. 27.
STUDY. A building or an apartment devoted to study or to literary employment.—Webster.
In some of the older American colleges, it was formerly the custom to partition off, in each chamber, two small rooms, where the occupants, who were always two in number, could carry on their literary pursuits. These rooms were called, from this circumstance,studies. Speaking of the first college edifice which was erected at New Haven, Mr. Clap, in his History of Yale College, says: "It made a handsome appearance, and contained near fiftystudiesin convenient chambers"; and again he speaks of Connecticut Hall as containing thirty-two chambers and sixty-fourstudies. In the oldest buildings, some of thesestudiesremain at the present day.
Thestudyrents, until December last, were discontinued with Mr.Dunster.—Quincy's Hist. Harv. Univ., Vol. I. p. 463.
Every Graduate and Undergraduate shall find his proportion of furniture, &c., during the whole time of his having astudyassigned him.—Laws Harv. Coll., 1798, p. 35.
To him that occupies mystudy,I give, &c.—Will of Charles Prentiss.
STUMP. At Princeton College, to fail in reciting; to say, "Not prepared," when called on to recite. Astump, a bad recitation; used in the phrase, "to make a stump."
SUB-FRESH. A person previous to entering the Freshman Class is called asub-fresh, or one below a Freshman.
Praying his guardian powersTo assist a poor "Sub-Fresh" at the dread examination.Poem before the Iadma Soc. of Harv. Coll., 1850, p. 14.
Our "Sub-Fresh" has that feeling.Ibid., p. 16.
Everybody happy, exceptSub-Fresh, and they trying hardest to appear so.—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XX. p. 103.
The timidSub-Freshhad determined to construct stout barricades, with no lack of ammunition.—Ibid., p. 103.
Sometimes writtenSub.
Information wanted of the "Sub" who didn't think it an honor to be electioneered.—N.B., Yale Coll., June14, 1851.
See PENE.
SUBJECT. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., a particular author, or part of an author, set for examination; or a particular branch of Mathematics, such as Optics, Hydrostatics, &c.—Bristed.
Toget up a subject, is to make one's self thoroughly master of it.—Bristed.
SUB-RECTOR. A rector's deputy or substitute.—Walton, Webster.
SUB-SIZAR. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., formerly an order of students lower than thesizars.
Masters of all sorts, and all ages,Keepers,subcizers, lackeys, pages.Poems of Bp. Corbet, p. 22.
There he sits and seesHow lackeys andsubsizerspressAnd scramble for degrees.Ibid., p. 88.
See under SIZAR.
SUCK. At Middlebury College, to cheat at recitation or examination by usingponies,interliners, orhelpsof any kind.
SUPPLICAT. Latin; literally,he supplicates. In the English universities, a petition; particularly a written application with a certificate that the requisite conditions have been complied with.—Webster.
ASupplicat, says the Gradus ad Cantabrigiam, is "an entreaty to be admitted to the degree of B.A.; containing a certificate that the Questionist has kept his full number of terms, or explaining any deficiency. This document is presented to the caput by the father of his college."
SURPLICE DAY. An occasion or day on which the surplice is worn by the members of a university.
"On all Sundays and Saint-days, and the evenings preceding, every member of the University, except noblemen, attends chapel in his surplice."—Grad. ad Cantab., pp. 106, 107.
SUSPEND. In colleges, to separate a student from his class, and place him under private instruction.
And those whose crimes are very great,Let ussuspendor rusticate.—Rebelliad, p. 24.
SUSPENSION. In universities and colleges, the punishment of a student for some offence, usually negligence, by separating him from his class, and compelling him to pursue those branches of study in which he is deficient under private instruction, provided for the purpose.
SUSPENSION-PAPER. The paper in which the act of suspension from college is declared.
Come, take these threesuspension-papers;They'll teach you how to cut such capers.Rebelliad, p. 32.
SUSPENSION TO THE ROOM. In Princeton College, one of the punishments for certain offences subjects a student to confinement to his chamber and exclusion from his class, and requires him to recite to a teacher privately for a certain time. This is technically calledsuspension to the room.
SWEEP, SWEEPER. The name given at Yale and other colleges to the person whose occupation it is to sweep the students' rooms, make their beds, &c.
Then how welcome the entrance of thesweep, and how cutely we fling jokes at each other through the dust!—Yale Lit. Mag., Vol. XIV. p. 223.
Knocking down thesweep, in clearing the stairs, we described a circle to our room.—The Yale Banger, Nov. 10, 1846.
A Freshman by the faithfulsweepWas found half buried in soft sleep.Ibid., Nov. 10, 1846.
With fingers dirty and black,From lower to upper room,A CollegeSweepwent dustily round,Plying his yellow broom.Songs of Yale, 1853, p. 12.
In the Yale Literary Magazine, Vol. III. p. 144, is "A tribute to certain Members of the Faculty, whose names are omitted in the Catalogue," in which appropriate praise is awarded to these useful servants.
The Steward … engagessweepersfor the College.—Laws Harv.Coll., 1816, p. 48.
One of thesweepersfinding a parcel of wood,… the defendant, in the absence of the owner of the wood, authorizes thesweeperto carry it away.—Scenes and Characters in College, p. 98.
SWELL BLOCK. In the University of Virginia, a sobriquet applied to dandies and vain pretenders.
SWING. At several American colleges, the wordswingis used for coming out with a secret society badge; 1st, of the society, toswing outthe new men; and, 2d, of the men, intransitively, toswing, or toswing out, i.e. to appear with the badge of a secret society. Generally,to swing outsignifies to appear in something new.
The new members have "swung out," and all again is harmony.—Sophomore Independent, Union College, Nov. 1854.
SYNDIC. Latin,syndicus; Greek, [Greek: sundikos; sun],with, and [Greek: dikae],justice.
An officer of government, invested with different powers in different countries. Almost all the companies in Paris, the University, &c., have theirsyndics. The University of Cambridge has itssyndics, who are chosen from the Senate to transact special business, as the regulation of fees, forming of laws, inspecting the library, buildings, printing, &c.—Webster. Cam. Cal.
SYNDICATE. A council or body of syndics.
The state of instruction in and encouragement to the study of Theology were thus set forth in the report of asyndicateappointed to consider the subject in 1842.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 293.
TADS. At Centre College, Ky., there is "a society," says a correspondent, "composed of the very best fellows of the College, calling themselvesTads, who are generally associated together, for the object of electing, by the additional votes of their members, any of their friends who are brought forward as candidates for any honor or appointment in the literary societies to which they belong."
TAKE UP. To call on a student to rehearse a lesson.
Professortookhimupon Greek;He tried to talk, but couldn't speak.MS Poem.
TAKE UP ONE'S CONNECTIONS. In students' phrase, to leave college.Used in American institutions.
TARDES. At the older American colleges, when charges were made and excuses rendered in Latin, the student who had come late to any religious service was addressed by the proper officer with the wordTardes, a kind of barbarous second person singular of some unknown verb, signifying, probably, "You are or were late."
Much absence,tardesand egresses,The college-evil on him seizes.Trumbull's Progress of Dullness, Part I.
TARDY. In colleges, late in attendance on a public exercise.—Webster.
TAVERN. At Harvard College, the rooms No. 24 Massachusetts Hall, and No. 8 Hollis Hall, were occupied from the year 1789 to 1793 by Mr. Charles Angier. His table was always supplied with wine, brandy, crackers, etc., of which his friends were at liberty to partake at any time. From this circumstance his rooms were calledthe Tavernfor nearly twenty years after his graduation.
In connection with this incident, it may not be uninteresting to state, that the cellars of the two buildings above mentioned were divided each into thirty-two compartments, corresponding with the number of rooms. In these the students and tutors stored their liquors, sometimes in no inconsiderable quantities. Frequent entries are met with in the records of the Faculty, in which the students are charged with pilfering wine, brandy, or eatables from the tutors'bins.
TAXOR. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., an officer appointed to regulate the assize of bread, the true gauge of weights, etc.—Cam. Cal.
TEAM. In the English universities, the pupils of a private tutor or COACH.—Bristed.
No man who has not taken a good degree expects or pretends to take good men into histeam.—Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ., Ed. 2d, p. 69.
It frequently, indeed usually happens, that a "coach" of reputation declines taking men into histeambefore they have made time in public.—Ibid., p. 85.
TEAR. At Princeton College, aperfect tearis a very extra recitation, superior to arowl.
TEMPLE. At Bowdoin College, a privy is thus designated.
TEN-STRIKE. At Hamilton College, a perfect recitation, ten being the mark given for a perfect recitation.
TEN-YEAR MEN. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., these are allowed to take the degree of Bachelor in Divinity without having been B.A. or M.A., by the statute of 9th Queen Elizabeth, which permits persons, who are admitted at any college when twenty-four years of age and upwards, to take the degree of B.D. after their names have remained on theboardsten years or more. After the first eight years, they must reside in the University the greater part of three several terms, and perform the exercises which are required by the statutes.—Cam. Cal.
TERM. In universities and colleges, the time during which instruction is regularly given to students, who are obliged by the statutes and laws of the institution to attend to the recitations, lectures, and other exercises.—Webster.
In the University of Cambridge, Eng., there are three terms during each year, which are fixed by invariable rules. October or Michaelmas term begins on the 10th of October, and ends on the 16th of December. Lent or January term begins on the 13th of January, and ends on the Friday before Palm Sunday. Easter or Midsummer term, begins on the eleventh day (the Wednesday sennight) after Easter-day, and ends on the Friday after Commencement day. Commencement is always on the first Tuesday in July.
At Oxford University, there are four terms in the year. Michaelmas term begins on the 10th of October, and ends on the 17th of December. Hilary term begins on the 14th of January, and ends the day before Palm Sunday. But if the Saturday before Palm Sunday should be a festival, the term does not end till the Monday following. Easter term begins on the tenth day after Easter Sunday, and ends on the day before Whitsunday. Trinity term begins on the Wednesday after Whitsunday, and ends the Saturday after the Act, which is always on the first Tuesday in July.
At the Dublin University, the terms in each year are four in number. Hilary term begins on the Monday after Epiphany, and ends the day before Palm Sunday. Easter term begins on the eighth day after Easter Sunday, and ends on Whitsun-eve. Trinity term begins on Trinity Monday, and ends on the 8th of July. Michaelmas term begins on the 1st of October (or on the 2d, if the 1st should be Sunday), and ends on December 16th.
TERRÆ FILIUS. Latin;son of earth.
Formerly, one appointed to write a satirical Latin poem at the public Acts in the University of Oxford; not unlike the prevaricator at Cambridge, Eng.—Webster.
Full accounts of the compositions written on these occasions may be found in a work in two volumes, entitled "Terræ-Filius; or the Secret History of the University of Oxford," printed in the year 1726.
See TRIPOS PAPER.
TESTAMUR. Latin; literally,we testify. In the English universities, a certificate of proficiency, without which a person is not able to take his degree. So called from the first word in the formula.
There is not one out of twenty of my pupils who can look forward with unmixed pleasure to atestamur.—Collegian's Guide, p. 254.
Everytestamurmust be signed by three out of the four examiners, at least.—Ibid., p. 282.
THEATRE. At Oxford, a building in which are held the annual commemoration of benefactors, the recitation of prize compositions, and the occasional ceremony of conferring degrees on distinguished personages.—Oxford Guide.
THEME. In college phrase, a short dissertation composed by a student.
It is the practice at Cambridge [Mass.] for the Professor of Rhetoric and the English Language, commencing in the first or second quarter of the student's Sophomore year, to give the class a text; generally some brief moral quotation from some of the ancient or modern poets, from which the students write a short essay, usually denominated atheme.—Works of R.T. Paine, p. xxi.
Far be it from me to enter into competition with students who have been practising the sublime art ofthemeand forensic writing for two years.—Harvardiana, Vol. III. p. 316.
But on the sleepy day ofthemes,May doze away a dozen reams.Ibid., p. 283.
Nimrod holds his "firsttheme" in one hand, and is leaning his head on the other.—Ibid., p. 253.
THEME-BEARER. At Harvard College, until within a few years, a student was chosen once in a term by his classmates to perform the duties oftheme-bearer. He received the subjects for themes and forensics from the Professors of Rhetoric and of Moral Philosophy, and posted them up in convenient places, usually in the entries of the buildings and on, the bulletin-boards. He also distributed the corrected themes, at first giving them to the students after evening prayers, and, when this had been forbidden by the President, carrying them to their rooms. For these services he received seventy-five cents per term from each member of the class.
THEME-PAPER. In American colleges, a kind of paper on which students write their themes or composition. It is of the size of an ordinary letter-sheet, contains eighteen or nineteen lines placed at wide intervals, and is ruled in red ink with a margin a little less than an inch in width.
Shoe-strings, lucifers, omnibus-tickets,theme-paper, postage-stamps, and the nutriment of pipes.—Harv. Mag., Vol. I. p. 266.