Student Songs & Slang

Slang terms were being thrown around on campus in 1920, too – maybe a bit more mild and appropriate than the ones today, but it was an inner-lingo among students nonetheless. A small guide to help first years understand the student slang was even included in the Student’s Handbook of 1920, and one or two of the terms are still regularly used on campus today.

Some highlights from the list include:  

Deacon Porter’s Hall: Another desert or pudding; so called because it resembles in shape and size the kind of hat worn by the honorable Deacon Porter, for whom Porter Hall, another hall is named.

Grid’s and Gleasies: The stores where you can get anything from a doughnut to a funeral wreath.

H.E.L: History of the English Language; an English course required of majors; not to be confused with another torture of slightly different orthography. 

(Insert section about songs)