Lexicon

This is a lexicon of CTY terms, organized by site. According to the LAN 17.2 Caution Tape Cape Wearer Quinn Reinhardt during the first annual Neur-Cog Psych debate, this lexicon IS A COMPANY.

General

• Activities: Scheduled social events and such that CTYers are required to attend after classes and on weekends. Popular ones include Discussion Group, Glowsticking, and Acting Improv.
• "American Pie": A song by Don McLean that is played at every CTY/CAA site as the last song at every dance (except for Skidmore Session 1 last dance and Skidmore Dave's Rave).
• Baby CTY: CTY Young Students Program.
• CAA: CTY Academic Explorations Program
• Canon: The songs which must be played at all CTY dances. The Canon varies by site (and sometimes even by session).
• Casino Night: Typically the second Saturday or Sunday. Involves gambling for fake money using chips. At Saratoga Springs, this also includes a Lip Sync "contest" and favors from the Godfather. At JHU it is common for people to be married.
• CTY: Center for Talented Youth. See also: CTY expansions.
• CTYer: A CTY student or alumnus; also, in some cases, anyone who is associated with CTY and understands the CTY spirit. "My college roommate was a CTYer too, but I didn't know her when I was there."
• CTY-I/CTY-A: Short for CTY inappropriate and appropriate, respectively, used by students and staff alike. Another term, CTYS was created at LAN.06.2 during Passionfruit when serveral people misheard the term "CTY-esque". CTYS has no meaning. Similarly, the term CTY-C gained mild popularity in CAR.09.2, meaning CTY-Contraband.
• CTY-L: The main CTY e-mailing list.
• CTY-Bi/CTBi: A sexual orientation. Being attracted to both sexes at CTY, but normally identifying as hetero or homosexual.
• CTY-M: CTY memories.
• CTY Withdrawal/Post-CTY Depression: The feeling of sadness that CTYers, especially nomores, experience after leaving CTY. Can last for days, weeks, or until the day before CTY of the next year. Often abbreviated 'PCTYD'.
• Double sessioner: Someone who goes to two sessions in one year, regardless of site.
• ERS: Egyptian Ratscrew, a popular card game at CTY.
• Five-year Freak: Someone able to attend CTY for a whole five years.
• Flying Squirrel: Someone who changes sites. For example, Suzie went to Lancaster in 2004 and in 2005, she went to Carlisle. At Carlisle, Suzie was referred to as a flying squirrel. (Note: Such people can also be called sperm.)
• Forevermore: Any CTY alumnus, who will always be a part of CTY.
• Grass orgy: In a grass orgy, one CTYer lies down on the grass, a second CTYer lies down with his or her head on the first CTYer's stomach, a third CTYer lies down on top of the second CTYer, and so on, until many CTYers are all lying on top of one another on the grass. Also known as 'tummy chains,' 'stummy lays,' 'cuddle puddles', or 'grorgies.' Variations include couch orgies (corgies) or floor orgies (floorgies).
• Hall bondage: A Sunday activity in which a CTYer is required to hang out with other students living on their hall. May occasionally be after Study Hall for a weird hall. The RAs refer to this time period as "hall bonding," but then again, RAs are strange.
• Hall hopping: Either legal or illegal practice of having sleepovers in other halls. Usually illegal.
• Hall meeting: A meeting of one's hall, normally before lights out, but after Quad Time. It is conducted by the RA, and is used to announce news and sign up for activities. Also a good chance to annoy your RA.
• Illegal sleepover: Colloquially known as an ISO. Sneaking into others' when sleepovers are not allowed or having a sleepover that breaks the rules in anyway. A common practice in these sleepovers is "practicing" on each other.
• Mafia: A popular activity game involving God/mediator, a doctor/angel, a detective/cop, mafia, and townspeople.
• Mandatory Fun: Activities, especially weekend activities. It is one of the oldest terms in the CTY lexicon, dating back at least to the mid-80s. Mandatory Fun activities have a very notorious reputation for being extremely boring and/or stupid. It was referred to as Non-Mandatory Fun at LMU through 2006, although the term Mandatory fun was adopted in 07.2.
• Mao: A very popular CTY card game, played at a variety of different sites. Its first rule is "you may not discuss the rules of Mao." Also popular with math teams such as ARML. There are an unlimited number of variants: Chicago math team Mao is the same as Massachusetts math team Mao, but is quite different from CTY Mao.
• Maybemore: A term invented on Facebook on August 9, 2011 after LAN 11.2. After some CTYers, including a (now maybe-not) nevermore, began having some confusion over whether they were going to CTY next year, the term "maybemore" was coined. May or may not reach more common usage.
• Meet Market: The evening social time at CTY lasting from 9:00 - 10:00. Called Quad Time at some sites, and Social Time at LMU and SUN.
• Methamphetamine Birds: A variant of Mafia with many sexual innuendos and questionable rituals.
• Nevermore: At most sites, a Nevermore is a CTYer who can no longer return due to reaching the age limit of 16.At Lancaster and Carlisle, a Nevermore is a CTYer who cannot return for other reasons and is not yet 16. Some tradition-unaware CTYers use this term interchangably with "nomore," or do not know what either are.
• Nomore: At some sites, a Nomore is a CTYer who cannot return due to reasons other than age. However, no more is now commonly used interchangeably with nevermore to describe someone on their last year of CTY.
• One Hit Wonder: Someone who is both a first year and a nomore/nevermore. Sometimes called "One Shot" or "One Year Tragedy."
• Onemore: A CTYer whose next year will be his or her nomore/nevermore year. Similarly, there are twomores (tumors), threemores, minus-onemores, etc.
• Passionfruit: A morning ritual involving toasting friends and drinking juice. After the Canon, it is one of the most important and universal CTY traditions. Some sites have Passionfruit every week (Carlisle), others only on the last day.
• Purgatory: Often referred by maybemores as their current situation, between heaven and hell.
• Quad: The large, grassy area in between all of the residential buildings where CTYers spend their free time. At some sites, "Quad" also refers to the buildings around the Quad, as in, "I live in Quad 10."
• Quad Time: Evening social time from 9:00-9:40. Has a reputation of seeming unbearably short. Called "Meet Market" or "Social Time" at some sites.
• RA: Residential Advisor. Like camp counselors, RAs are in charge of watching students while they aren't in class, organizing activities, and conducting hall meetings. Can be pronounced as "R.A.", "Rah", or as "RbAe"
• Raving: Alternative and more common term for glowsticking or poi-spinning.
• Rinas/Rinos: Through some strange coincidence, several CTY sites have, in their histories, been shared with ballet camps. Males are called "rinos" (pronounced "rhino") whereas females are "rinas." CTYers have had a quarrelsome history with all other camps, whose numbers are usually far outmatched by CTY.
• Scum: A popular card game commonly known as President; there are several variations, including Scum: The Masquerade and Scum: The Ascension.
• Seven-year Satan: Someone who has done seven years of CTY.
• Shorthand Dates: The format of expressing CTY sessions, sites, and courses.
• Silent Football: A complex game involving an invisible football, hallucinations, and tattling. This game is most popular at Lancaster, especially Second Session, and, to a lesser degree, Carlisle-second.
• Special Sites: Sites for students who have aged out of CTY. Commonly known as extended CTY. Generally for grades 10-12.
• Six-year Satan Spawn: Someone who has been at CTY for six years.
• Sleepover: A sleepover is... a sleepover. Sleepovers may occur on Friday and Saturday nights, although sometimes only one due to RAs' patrol duties. Any number of people may be in one room, although RAs may cancel sleepovers if they become too loud. At Saratoga, the number of people allowed to sleep over was limited to two times the number of people usually sleeping in a room.
• Squirrel/Sperm: A first year CTYer. Squirrel is the more prevalent term at both Saratoga Springs and Lancaster. Sperm is the more common term at Carlisle despite administrative attempts to quash it; it is used to designate someone who has never been to Passionfruit. "Even though Katie is a squirrel, she understands the essence of CTY."
• TA/LA/PA: Teaching Assistant, Lab Assistant, Program Assistant; these terms are synonymous, but each site only uses one. Usually, they are college/grad students who assist with instructing classes.
• Tanyard: Lanyard tan
• The Game: (LAN/CAR/LMU/SAR/JHU) A game that is very popular at Lancaster and came to Carlisle in 06.2 and later JHU. You just lost the game. Darn.
• Thursday: A day of the week marked by bathrobe and towel-wearing. Also the end of the world. At Carlisle, the day most often used for Poetry Night. At Saratoga, this is also RASK (Random Acts of Senseless Kindness) Day, where clap lines will form along the campus walkways.
• Two-year Tragedy: A second year who cannot return to CTY.
• Uber-CTY/Uber-CTYer: Person or thing that embodies the spirit of CTY and is very involved in the life of CTY. Ex: "Sarah is such an uber-ctyer."
• Veil law: Rules instituted in the '80s that boys cannot be in girls' rooms, and girls cannot be in boys' rooms. Rarely referred to by name.

Lancaster

• Acting Improv: Best. Activity. Ever. It is a very popular activity that brings a lot of laughs and brings people out of their comfort zones.
• Agreedball: A sport invented for CTY Lancaster by two RAs whose catch phrase was "agreed." The purpose of the game is to be agreeable.
• Alcove: The great-great-grandspawn of the Digiclan at Lancaster. Originated in 2001. Was in exile during 2002-2004 (due to the lack of an actual Alcove), but was revived in 2005. Rumored to have killed/been killed by Game Corner. Died in 2007, was resurrected in 2008.
• Arches: A popular place for activities at Lancaster, outside of North/South Ben and the cafeteria. The Arches are also meeting places, places for activities and places to sign up for things. Arches split into North Arches, Central Arches, and South Arches.
• ASFC: The field house at Lancaster, which contains a pool, small basketball courts, and an indoor track. During 2004, this space was used for meals while the dining hall was reconstructed. Also used for indoor dances when outdoor dances are rained out.
• Astro Dance Party: During 07.2, the Astronomy class would dance the "Macarena" at their meeting place (one of the many trees on the quad) and the "Cha Cha Slide" on their way to their building (a challenge in and of itself). Usually the entire class, sometimes including the TA, Emi Wang, participated with confidence. They were occasionally joined by other students.
• Big Top: A very painful memory from 04.2.
• Blammo: A popular game involving plastic spoons, God, and stalking.
• Boobtag: Tag. With the prefix "boob."
• Continuum: A word used to describe people who look exactly alike, starting with Zev Hurwich in 06.1. Noted people included in the continuum are Zev Hurwich, Zev Chonoles (as anti-continuum), Everett Maus (Ev), and Maddie Stevens (Mev). Also known as the MevEvZev Continuum, or any variation on that (ZevEvMev, etc).
• Debunking: Refers to either (a) revealing a falsehood (usually a myth); or (b) making everyone in Lancaster de-bunk their bunk beds. Also known as "Room Tetris." Debunking is generally only an issue in dorms with modular furniture, such as Schnader. Unfortunately for the RAs (who generally do all the debunking during one study hall), most rooms are not truly "rectangular" due to protrusions such as power/phone outlets and air conditioning units. This often results in strange furniture configurations.
• Dermot: A midlife crisis, and a legendary RA.
• Digiclan: A group of Lancaster CTYers that started as a group of students who took Digital Logic in the early '90s. They are known for their weirdness and their (currently defunct) webpage.
• Electric Tree: A tree on Hartman Green that has an electrical outlet installed at the base of its trunk; used to play music by They Might Be Giants after the Passionfruit.
• Find the Saltine: A game invented in the television series Scrubs during the fifth season episode "My Half Acre." It was introduced to CTY Lancaster by John Harrison during 07.2. In this game, one person hides a saltine somewhere on his person; then, the other players must find the saltine. Each person gets one guess per day as to the location of the saltine. When someone finds the saltine, the hider announces, "You, sir, have found the saltine," and the finder then hides it. Rinse and repeat.
• : Kinda weird that there's no title for this entry, huh? Just a blank spot, no visible word.
• Fob: Little plastic things first issued in 2003 at Lancaster that magically opened doors with a simple wave. Stands for "For Opening Buildings" or "For Opening Bras." It is a universal curse-word substitute.
• Fobmasters/Fobsters/FoBoys: a sort-of clan originating in CTY Lancaster 05.1; mostly boys from Atlee 3 and their friends. They produced jokes like Motherfobber and the Fob Dance, and the Switchfob.
  • Switchfob: An awesome way to open buildings in which a Lancaster CTYer would squeeze the fob between his or her room key and meal card. The fob would fly out. This trick became quite popular to the point that some people would fob Stager Hall, which was usually unlocked.
• Forque/Forke: A fork given to a person by the infamous Dr. Forque from 04.1 during the fork shortage.
• God Fob: An RA fob that can open any door at any time. Only a lucky few students get them. Mostly used to sneak in right after dinner before Study Hall. If caught in the building at unauthorized times, RAs have the right to confiscate these.
• Hammertime: The time zone in which Lancaster Session 2 is located. Inseperably associated with Silent Football.
• LLRT: The Land of The Large Round Tables. A group of Lancaster CTYers, and a offshoot of the DigiClan. LLRT originally referred to a group of CTYers in 1993; the name has passed down through several generations and has since become the Alcove. It is also the name of Dining Hall 4 at Lancaster, where LLRTers ate.
• I Lost The Game: Someone shouts this, the guy next to them shouts it, the RA next to *them* shouts it, and so on. [Insert background history here]
• Kosherization: Making Kosher a place which was not previously so. Performed upon the Alcove during 07.2.
• Methamphetamine Birds: A variant of Mafia with many sexual innuendos and questionable rituals.
• Nerdgasm: Referring to any event of such nerdish proportions it can/does produce orgasm. A particularly appropriate example was when, for the LAN.06.2 Talent Show, one CTYer solved a Rubik's Cube onstage while reciting the first 200 digits of pi.
• PoserMofo/PoserMobo: An inside joke stemming from the PoserMobile commercial from LAN.05.1, usually the Logic A kids.
• Purpling: A term used by some residents of Schnader in 06.1 to describe a boy (blue) walking into a girls' hall (pink), or vice versa.
• Second Saturday: Lancaster's version of "Drag Day" which at Lancaster is referred to as "Cross-dress Day." This occurs on the second Saturday of each session and is marked by gratuitous references from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
• Sir/good sir: The kivo man,who was fond of reprimanding students while using the prefix"sir". A song by the name of "Sir" was performed by the band "Half-Straight" in Lancaster 10.2
• Spencer: An all-mighty being whose glory campers learned about in 08.1 and presumably 08.2
• Strawberry Kiwi Lemonade: An exceedingly prized drink at Lancaster, bought at Turkey Hill. It is said to contain a vomit suppressant because it is so sweet. People drink it throughout the sessions, sometimes in very large quantities and it is often found at Passionfruit.
• Thormanism: A religion started in 05.1 by a group of MIND students based on a god, Rachel Thorman.
• Thorny Crown: A laurel crown made by Rachel Larrowe (with help from David Federman, Elena Karras and others), commissioned by Zev Hurwich when offered a bunch of grapes by Rina Polyakov. It was passed down from Zev to Everett Maus as a relic with unspecified purpose. In 08.1 Ev passed it down to Elena (the king in american pie) but she has chosen to stop this as a passed down position. Instead it will simply be the job of some kind hearted CTYer to buy grapes as soon as possible, eat said grapes very quickly, and then craft a crown out of the stems of said grapes. David Federman (the King) also wore it in "American Pie." As of 08.1 the crown serves the specific purpose of being worn by the King in "American Pie," and the original crown has been replaced by one made of duct tape and decorated with grape stems by Elena Karras. The newest thorny crown was made of paper towel, duct tape, and grape stems. In 10.1 Paul Wolfteich will make the thorny crown but will not necessarily be the one to wear it in American Pie.
• Turkey Hill: A convenience store right outside of F&M campus. Each hall visits Turkey Hill twice; extra visits may be won from Mandatory Fun. This special store has been made the top grossing Turkey Hill through CTYer's efforts.
• Ultimizzle Frisbizzle Tournamizzle: Name of the Ultimate Frisbee tournament held 05.1 and 06.2. Marked a general overuse of the suffix -izzle, and inspired the 05.2 Alcove shirt.
• Winged Llama: Llama. With wings.
• Your mother: She doesn't work here. This was a running joke that can be traced back to a speech given by Chris Mahoney, Site Director at Lancaster for the first week of 01.1, at the opening ceremonies.

Carlisle

• Andrean Dynasty: In 12.1, Michelle Kim (empress 12.1), Maya Hoke (empress 13.1), Alexis Onsi (empress 14.1), and Megan Sims were all on RA Andrea's hall. Megan Sims is the sister of Matthew Sims who is empress 15.1. The RA whose hall this was is Andrea, who is notable for being a favorite of all four members of the dynasty, even the one who wasn't on her hall. This line of empresses will inevitably die in 16.1. (*While neither are/were empress, both Julia Guziewicz (15.1 Poetry Goddess) and SK Allen (16.1 Jesus) were in Andrea's hall in 14.1.)
• Anita Tuvin Schlechter: The auditorium used for dances, the Talent Show, etc., named after Anita Tuvin Schlecter by her father, who donated the building. A bear owned by McKenzie Hull 06.2 was named after her, tradmarking the phrase, "Anita Tuvin Schlechter: the woman, the building, the bear."
• Betty the Cardswiper: The cardswiper at the HUB. She was infamous for saying, "Hello. Thank You."
• Blue Js: The site-renowned "gang" consisting of the members of Superquad, Quad 4, Floor 2. It was started because over half the hall's names started with the letter "J"; the rest had honorary J's added. These Existentialism and Cognitive Psychology students were known for their Blue Js hands (later stolen by the Groundbats of Session 2). These hands were infamously turned upside-down to become the symbol of the rival hall (Quad 5, Floor 2) Phoenix. Blue Js were well known for their late night Blue Js runs, and their covering of the campus with pink chalk birds.
• Bocongalicious: Something that has to do with Bocong in many ways. "Have a Bocongalicious Summer!" was a common yearbook signature during 07.1.
• Cake: Site Director Bret's analogy of CTY being a cake in 06.1; 06.2 had a sandwich. Safety on top, learning on the bottom, and fun (and CTYers) in the middle, protected by a safe learning environment. Referred to constantly and spread to Lancaster by way of Jeff Sachs's Passionfruit speech.
• Conspiracy to fatten: A conspiracy involving the ratio of eating and inactive time to activity time. With four-and-a-half hours of eating time (2 hours for breakfast, 1 hour for lunch, 1.5 hours for dinner), nine hours of class, eight hours of sleep, the only conclusion is that Carlislians are being fattened up for the slaughter and an eventual feeding to Galen, the rarely seen academic dean.
• Couching: The act of sitting on the couches in the HUB during free time. A coucher is one who couches.
• The Devil's Den: The convenient store in the HUB. Filled with lots and lots and lots of energy drinks, along with other junk food items.
• Double-Klineing: Spending both activity periods in the Kline gym.
• Fschnargling: (the 'f' is silent) An activity that was deemed by the 10.2 RAs as contraband, but seems to refer to CTY-I PDA. As of 19.1 and 22.1 the f is no longer silent.
• Fun With The Hos(e): An awesome weekend activity thought up by Luke in 06.2 and attended by most of the Game Theory class and others. It involved simply playing around with a water hose and water balloons.
• Fun Free Friday: The second Friday of the session when the RAs make all of the activities sound horrible. Most of them really are awful, but some of them are actually fun activities with bad names. Also, much to the dismay of many students, Kline is not offered either activity period.
• Goregasm/Goregy: DISS.06.2 had such a severe obsession with Al Gore, especially after seeing an Inconvenient Truth, that they decided to start an Al Gore-based religion. The word Goregasm was invented to describe the feelings an Al Gore lover gets when doing anything Al Gore related, an event referred to as a Goregy when occurring collectively. The term was coined by David.
• Goth Day: Carlisle's "Goth Day." It is debatable whether it takes place on Second Wednesday or Second Thursday. Although Goth Day was traditionally on Thursday, many have adopted the tradition to Wednesday. Used interchangably with "Emo Day."
• Groundbats: Flying rodents that can dig in the sky and fly in the ground. Groundbats were also a past hall theme, resurrected by RA Jacob in 2006.
• Ha!: A game that involves laying on the stomachs of other players and trying to make them laugh by saying "HA!"
• HUB: The Holland Union Building, a place for eating and hanging out at Carlisle.
• HUB Donuts: The legendarily tasty donuts served at breakfast in the HUB cafeteria. Embraced by a few CTYers of 06.2, they are truly orgasmically good.
• HUB Potatoes: Potatoes served at every meal in the cafeteria of the HUB. Also the theme of the 10.1 Talent Show
• Helen Muller: One of two Alaskans from the same school in Anchorage. Attended Carlisle '05 - '08. Takes care of people when they are sick.
• Jacob the Jeweler: Resident Advisor Jacob Weisfeld, Captain himself, who resided over the MIND.B.CAR.06.2 and EXIT.B.CAR.06.2 boys.
• J'hanja'kwanzi: A game invented by CTYers during 10.2, using a chess board and nicknames for each of the pieces, involving political or historical humor; typically, the purpose of the game is to eliminate all of the opponent's pieces by shaking the board.
• Jon Hecht: A onemore at CAR.06.2 who was a prominent member of the Cucumber Cult. He was very notable through his height and bright red hair, for which he was dubbed "The Beacon."
• Kill Murray/Save Murray: An improvisational game where two players, using their creativities and two markers, try to either to kill (red marker) or to save (green marker) a brown stick figure named Murray.
• Kline: The gym at Carlisle.
• Kunigunda (and Lisa): The mascot of EXIT.B.CAR.06.1.
• KW: The former offices at Carlisle where you go if you get sick or get in trouble were located here. Now it's dorms
• Marxi: A fantastic, short, loveable, eccentric CTYer. Dated Ippy at CAR.05.2. Nomore in '06. Partially responsible for Kumquat receiving said nickname.
• Massey's: The creamery near Dickinson where students often enjoy Meet Markets when RAs take side trips. Frequently used as rewards for good behavior.
• Nate's Grandma: An activity at CAR.06.2. Also known as "Christian's Hall Bonding."
• Plaid Shorts Day: Monday of every week, during which everyone wore some form of plaid shorts or other plaid textured clothes. Popular in 07.1.
• Purple Wednesday: An attempt by members of Beth's hall in 10.1 to get all the students to wear purple on every Wednesday of the session. This was somewhat successful after students wrote in sidewalk chalk that Wednesday was purple day.
• Second Tuesday: Carlisle's "Cross-dressing day."
• Slackjaw: A staring-contest-like game that became popular in Carlisle.
• Space Nazi: A group of RAs who would go around during dances of 06.1 to students who were grinding and tell them to "leave room for Jesus." A common response to this was, "I'm Jewish."
• Steve: Loveable mascot of Carlisle '17, and site director of Carlisle
• Taku Appreciation: Appreciation of the POLY.B.CAR.07.2. TA, Taku; it eventually became an activity. Taku returned to TA for POLY.B.CAR.12.1, and a Taku appreciation activity was held on the last Wednesday of the session, surprisingly without knowledge of the past year's activity. Live the life of a legend.
• Tea Cooler: An indescribable iced tea/lemonade-like product made by Lenkerbrook Farms found at Carlisle. It's like lemonade only better. There have been worries about the level of radioactivity in some of its other products due to its proximity to Three Mile Island.
• The Weather Girls: Spurring from a Casino Night Karaoke rendition of "It's Raining Men," the Weather Girls can be identified by standing in public and gathering upon a call of "Weather Girls Assemble!"
• Toga Day/Third Monday: Theme day invented by nevermores Maliya, Lee, Claire, and Swati.
• TreSync Amusing dance performed by the male RAs during the 07.2 Talent Show. They performed to the renowned N'Sync's "Bye Bye Bye."
• Vertical Rule: The rule that says if you're at Meet Market and you don't sit up straight, you get a bright light in your eyes and many RAs looking at you suspiciously. However, the vertical rule can be bent if you are out in the open or perpendicular to each other, as in playing the game Ha! (ways to get around the rule: say you're looking at the stars).
• Yams: The mating call or random blurting of the word yams, coming from a large group of nevermores of 2013 session 1
• Yong-Min Syndrome (YMS): Extreme perversion in thought, speech, or action. Made by Phil's and Scott's hall in 07.1.
• Poetry Night: Poetry readings done every Thursday and last Wednesday at Meet Market. Presided over by the Poetry Goddess.
• Exist in Me: The beautiful table in the HUB Basement that was supposedly a Dickinson art project. Many of the other tables are found amusing by the students, like "Revolutionize Me" and "Grow in Me."

Saratoga Springs (Skidmore)

• Amnesty Box: On the first night, each RA collects all contraband and puts it in an Amnesty Box with no risk of punishment. All items in the amnesty box are given back at the end of session. (Note: total amnesty does not actually extend to things like machetes, as evidenced in 12.2)
• Cookie Trade: The door between Rounds 3 and Howe 3 is closed because they are boys' and girls' dorms, respectively. Occasionally an RA will allow a cookie trade, where the door is kept open and boys and girls can chat, trade food, etc. without breaking any rules.
• Dave Rave: A one hour long dance following evening classes (9PM-10PM) on the last Wednesday of a session, first held 12.2. Most Canon songs are played at this dance. Is named such because site director David created it. 2016.1 Dave left, and the new site director asked us to rename this dance. We temporarily called it "The Rave" so that it's easy for everyone to unofficially keep calling it "Dave's Rave".
• Dipshit: A SILENT game in which everyone sits in a circle with one's legs crossed. One hits one's knee (right or left, depending on the player's whim) and then the player next to him/her does so, etc. One may not speak unless the leader of the game calls on him/her. The King/Queen of the Quad usually leads the game, and failing at the game (or speaking out of turn) will result in embarrassing, yet mandatory, "punishments." Also called "Dipstick" to appease pesky staff.
• The Duckpond: A pond on the edge of campus with a fountain and algae. It is formally named by the campus "Haupt pond." On the last morning, passionfruit is held there. During the session, the popular weekly "Reading by the Duck Pond" is held there,
• Fruit: A quad time game where everyone playing forms a circle, and picks a fruit to be their name for the game (or whatever theme you feel like playing, such as Harry Potter characters). You go around and declare your name, and someone starts off in the middle with a towel. This person says one of the names, and if they can hit that person before they say another person's name, the person that was hit goes into the middle. If the person says another name, that person has to say another name, and so on.
• Harold and Maude: Movie that was introduced to Saratoga by RAs Val and Kenny in 2005. This movie is considered one of the greatest cult movies of all time, and has a great soundtrack by Cat Stevens.
• Jazzies: The jazz camp people, usually used to refer to cute boys at the jazz camp. They are distinct group from Rinas/Rinos and are better liked.
• Jonsson Tower: In the event of (insert calamitous disaster of choice here), how long would it take to reach the top of Jonsson Tower? 1 MINUTE 12 SECONDS!!!!
• Rinas and Rinos: The ballerina camp people, female ballerinas are referred to as "rinas" and male ballerinas as "rinos".
• Synergy: A term from 06.1 that means teamwork, originating from a cult-like following based on a speech made by the Site Director.
• Tater: A stuffed potato. He is used to separate grinders or dancers who are too close. He was stolen by Manan (SRA '06) during the first Mandatory Fun Saturday of Second Session. Where's Tater?
• Varsity Catch: A game in which a bunch of people run around with a ball, throwing it to each other. When the ball is dropped or kicked, everyone stops and yells at the offender, "You're the worst!" The game is then resumed.
• Michael Silver is amazing.
• Jon Good loves you: After Jon Good wrote this in sidewalk chalk during RASK 2000.2, he has become a legendary figure in Saratoga CTY culture. It is regularly seen written everywhere after RASK both sessions, and the Nevermores (as of 13.2 and 14.2) line up to yell "Good night, go home, nobody loves you except Jon Good!" at the end of the last dance. After "And the three men I admired most/ the father, son, and the holy ghost," in American Pie, People of both sessions yell "and Jon Good!"

Loudonville (Siena)

• Butt Rock: A popular landmark that was supposed to be a commemorative heart for 9/11 victims, but from one angle it actually looks like a giant pink butt. CTYers are technically not supposed to sit on it. Also, the butt rock gets heated in the sun *wink wink*.
• The Friars: Jedi who roam the campus in space age golf carts. Angering a friar may result in a lightning bolt striking you down where you stand. CTYers have been known to be run over by the golf carts.
• The Slushites of Meng: The followers of the religion and person known as Meng Cheng.
• The Dermites: The followers of the religion of Dermot and his magic hat, rivals to the Slushites of Meng.
  • "Meng wills it!": A phrase that the Slushites commonly used as an excuse for anything.
• STD: Abbreviation of "social time detention" where a CTYer has broken a rule and is forced to miss a designated social time. The term was coined 07.1, but really caught on 08.1.
• The Ten-Plus-One Commandments: At Hamilton, the basic rules were displayed in "thou shalt not" form. Originally there were ten, but over the years, they were rewritten until there were eleven, or ten plus one. The final commandment was "No sitting on window ledges or crossing them on your way out the window." This was necessitated by the actions of one John Hague, a.k.a. Spam, a former CTYer and now RA, who sat on a Hamilton window ledge.

Los Angeles (LMU)

• BLAMMO: Organized by the Trinity's Son in 2012, BLAMMO begins with with signups during the second or third social time, and assignments and spoons are granted during the first dance. The game is played until the end of the session, and everyone still alive is given the title of the winner of BLAMMO.
• Cafeteria Line: Due to the large influx of CTYers and students from other camps at meal times, a very long line forms at the cafeteria doors. This problem is especially prevelant during dinner, when all CTYers are released at the same time. Previously, one could see huge mobs of students pouring forth from the nearest dorms, stampeding towards the cafeteria, competing for spots near the beginning of the line. This act was banned in 12.1 when it was deemed unsafe to run across the road that lies just before the cafeteria. In 13.1, students saw new taped posts demarking the snake-like pathway that students must line up in. Even so, students often cut under this tape to more quickly navigate the line. In 14.1, a (slightly more) permanent fence was put up, solidifying the line structure and preventing CTYers from cutting through the line. However, it is still sometimes possible to cut through the fence if no one else is around.
• English: A manfairy with a big frilly tutu, purple sparkly elbow gloves, and a giant pencil that spews poisonous ink. From ETYM.07.2.
• Foreign Camp: A camp with Spaniards and other Europeans that apparently take classes in English on campus. This is never seen; usually they're just smoking outside of Jamba Juice or being rude to CTYers.
• Guitar Camp: A guitar workshop that is usually on campus only during first session but during 2010 overlapped both sessions. While CTY and guitar camp were at odds for years in 09.1 a tentative peace was made for them and several of them actually gave CTYers their lanyards when asked. A year later, however, in 2010, most of the guitar camp boys just think CTYers are very strange.
• Kobe Camp: A camp of kids who take over the cafeteria for about a week. During their stay, they usually annoy everyone with their inferior stupidity.
• Lame Train Way of Life: An ideology that gives people the permission to take themselves out of potentially explosive situations (a.k.a., an excuse to be lazy). From the reign of the late Tom Ryan III.
• Rabÿt: A swedish death metal rabbit that helps you to logic down. From LOGC.07.2.
• Schmorntel: A happy red rhinoceros that flies and exists. From LOGC.07.1.
• The Awakenment Pill: A single-use pill that allows the consumer to be Awakened and learn what really happens after death. Its corresponding lime-green poster had instead, "The Awakening Pill," much to everyone's confusion. This contributor has no clue which is the official name. From LOGC.22.1.
• Green Cheese: The material the moon is definitely made of. From LOGC.22.1, but it is unclear whether this term has been used in previous classes.
• Unreserved Intimacy: Students Annette Lin and William Bhatnagar of LOGC.22.1 discovered that the characters Philo and Cleanthes, from David Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, live with each other in this ("You, in particular, CLEANTHES, with whom I live in unreserved intimacy; you are sensible..." from Part XII). When questioned regarding their relationship, the instructor was quick to clarify that they are merely "close friends" who "hang out" often. Some speculate that they might be roommates.
• Foot Person: A devoted participant of the 22.1 secret activity in which the Foot People told stories of the time Way Back When and walked around humming with their palms pressed together. When "Foot people, unite!" is audibly said, the foot people clap in unison above their heads and pay attention. They may have been observed peacefully and politely asking people, "Nike or Adidas?" during activities. The individuals who replied were either bowed to or shamed (very politely!) depending on their answers. For the rest of the 22.1 session, they were seen greeting each other by enthusiastically calling out, "Foot person!" with their palms pressed together either at chest height or clapped above the head.
• Peace, Not Potatoes: A campaign made during 09.1 by the LAWP class in which they carried out a hypothetical experiment to see how many people would notice the black arm bands, sometimes called "Protest Bands," worn by LAWPsters. Later, the bands evolved into "Memory Bands" made out of black duct tape and worn as bracelets.
• The Potato Cycle: The way potatoes supposedly get recycled through the LMU cafeteria. Through study of the potato cycle, one can predict what future meals may bring.
• The Potato Generator: The large, white (and somewhat rusting), dumpster-impostor attached to the back of the LMU cafeteria. It is said to be the origin of all the potatoes that are in the meals. During 09.1, 3 times in a row, there were no potatoes in the lunch - causing general uprising and worry. Some argued that the Potato Generator was broken, and later that day, a huge truck was seen hauling the Generator away, and then putting it back in place. Meals with potatoes resumed. However, some may now question whether or not the Potato Generator really is the site of the recycling and creation of LMU potatoes, due to the fact that several PCTYDers of 09.1 met the actual Executive Chef of the LMU Caf - Jeff Mercer. When asked about the abundance of potatoes, he replied, "I'm Irish."

Baltimore (JHU)

• BLAMMO: Brought to JHU in 09.2, this is the same game mentioned above in "Lancaster," but has slight variations in rules. The title is always written in caps. After its ban, BLAMMO is tying to make a come back… in some form…
• Chalk skippers A cult of individuals who leave dashed-trails of chalk on every blackboard they see. If you are considering joining this marvelous organization, there's a clip get you inspired
• Cuthulu A H.P.Lovecraft monster that is worshipped by some Johns-Hopkinses through praise of the tentacles.
• Chingu: Started by the legendary hall "The Chingus" in 15.2, it is a Korean word meaning "friend" to describe everyone you meet at CTY.
• Dark Lunch Not a term exclusive to CTY, but one commonly used to describe the not-so unusual activity of eating between the hours of 12-4am. Usually done by ISOers or those on particularly hard classes like IENG
• Interprogram What a CTYer does when they engage (in any way) with anyone from the countless other camps on site. This is very CTYI (CTY illegal)
• LAME: Lanyards Are My Everything, from the Talent Show Act (06.2).
• Megaphone (THE Megaphone): The white megaphone carried by staff. This megaphone is used to, in addition to the typical functions of a megaphone, relay the message to students that A) class has begun, get to your designated areas please, B) Activities have begun, get to your designated areas please, or C) BE QUIET ALREADY!! This is done via a button on the megaphone that plays a tune, which past generations have christened "The Chinese Ice-Cream Truck Tune." In short, this megaphone is sacred. It's one of the most reliable timekeepers at JHU. IT CONTROLS YOUR LIFE. *Twilight Zone music*
• Ninja: A phrase coined and used by Pasha's Hall, specifically Kevin Yang, in 07.2. Used as a general adjective of awesomeness: "OMG, that was so ninja!" Anything can qualify for ninja status, but those that are chosen are typically flashy stunts, or brilliant moves. For an example, click here.
• Sketchy Dudes: A term used by Nell's Hall 09.1 for non-lanyard wearing people; also in reference for when to hit the big blue button on the lamps, ie. "it is okay to hit the button when a sketchy dude is in the immediate proximity, especially if wearing black or having followed you for some time."
• Unstructured time The hour long period of time when each day students are not allowed in their dorms but allowed to roam the city and play on the fields

Hawaii

• Club Iron (CFe): Week-long activity devoted to long runs, hills, and rotten coconuts. Run by RA Hillary and Office Manager Ali during Session 2 of 2005.
• Honorary Title: A new tradition at KNE in which somebody earns a title from their peers. If the name sticks for the whole session, it is an honorary title.
• The JellyFish Doughnuts: The students of MARI.B.KNE.05.2. Known for their superiority to the Nudies of Maria.
• PandaClan: The students of FCPS.KNE.03.1, so named because of a very bad panda joke told by the instructor, which then spread through campus like a radioactive, mutant virus. Students were known to hide behind bushes, jumping out at passers-by shouting, "I'm a PANDA!"

Bristol

• Buffalo: A game in which at all meals, any beverage must be held in your non-dominant hand. If it isn't, another player can call "buffalo" and you must chug the entire beverage then and there. Although more uncommon,in a variant of the game, if a false buffalo is called, which is when the player does have the in their non dominant hand, the caller must chug their drink as a sort of foul.
• CAS: the building where the whales, math, writing and humanities courses are held
• MNS: The Marine and Natural Sciences building
• Soccer Foursquare: While frowned upon at other sites, Soccer Foursquare is somewhat of a tradition at Bristol. It's like foursquare, but with your feet. If your skill allows you to, you can also juggle the ball for as long as you desire given that it doesn't touch the floor.
• Stonewall I-IV: Girls and boys dorms. Stonewall I houses the main office and nurse.
• The Yachtsman: An urban legend. For further information, please refer to the Bristol page under "Sites" on the Main Page. You will find it under "The Yachtsman".

Easton

• Awkward Lyric Reading (ALR): A tradition at Easton at least as old as 16.1. Is usually an event in Swashbuckler and a double period activity at least once a week. Song lyrics are awkwardly read (changing pace, tone, accent, rampant voice cracks, etc.) Always hilarious. "Oh shoot... n-word...um...uh...b-word," -RA Tim
• Blammo: A game involving many plastic spoons, God, stalking and rampant cheating.
• Benches: Benches on the quad. Lafayette College staff are known to come up with ridiculous excuses to forbid CTYers from sitting on them, e.g. "If you break them, you'll pay for 'em."
• Bong Hits 4 Jesus: Great Cases 17.1 and 17.2's most memorable event in court case Morse v. Frederick. Can be either sung to the tune of "Don't Stop Believin'" or a base for marijuana jokes.
• Braveheart: Loosely based on the Mel Gibson movie about William Wallace's 13th century Scottish revolt, the activity involves putting blue war paint on your face, shouting "FREEDOM!" and storming through other activities.
• Casino Night Gangs/Robberies: Massive robberies of the casino night vault orchestrated by gangs (Operation Big Balls (15.1), the Royal Flush (15.2), an unnamed gang in 16.1 and the Spicy Bois (16.2)). Gang members use stealth and agility to slip money off tables into pockets or flipping/jumping tables to steal money. If the robbery's scale is large enough, the DRL declares no winning hall of Casino Night. The Royal Flush and the Spicy Bois were lead by RA Allan Hall and student Ben Evelson.
• Cloudwatching: An activity held on the quad almost every day. CTYers sit on the quad and talk about anything (the meaning of life, CTY itself, etc). Rarely are clouds actually closely observed.
• Cross-Dress Day: The last Wednesday of the last week of the session. It is not official but most campers will borrow clothes from their friends of the opposite gender and dress like them for the day. Most boy CAAmpers, if they are ambitious will get in trouble for dressing "inappropriate" with short skirts, and stuffed bras showing.
• Dances: Every friday night at Marlo room in Farinon at night-no study hall! See Canon.
• Eric: A TA/Instructor in 15.2 and 16.2. Known for being vicious about lanyard wearing policy. Known to sit right by the door to the Farinon dining hall and reprimanding students for not immediately putting their lanyards back on after getting swiped in.
• Egyptian Ratscrew (ERS): Fast-paced slap-based card game popular at Easton. RA Tim is known for being insanely good at it WILL FOREVER DESTROY YOU.
• Eunice: A game brought to Easton by RA John in 14.1. Participants stand in a circle, look down at the floor, say "Eunice!" in Eunice-on (eh?), and look up. Participants then make faces at each other or make any other nonverbal gesture. If you laugh, you're out. Longest game on record was 3.5 hrs.
• Ex Parte Milligan: Recurring joke in 17.1 Great Cases. During a moot court, lawyers continuously referred back to the previous moot court of ex parte Milligan, thus creating hilarious ways to back up arguments.
• Farinon: Cafeteria and Bookstore
• Fractal Night: A lesser-known Easton tradition in which all math classes (YS and OS) get together in the Simon 3 Lecture Hall and watch a PBS documentary on fractal geometry.
• Gordon Ramsay Appreciation: An activity, started by RA Jim in 16.1, in which students watch the High Holy Culinary Savage Himself. Run at least once per week.
• Goth Monday: The last Monday of the last week of a session. Similar to Cross-Dressing day but CAAmpers will dress in goth attire.
• Half-Casual Fridays: A tradition started by RA Tom Gillet and continued by RA John. Students and RAs dress one half of their body fancy and formal, and the other casual.
• HEATHER: Worst DRL there is. See Easton's Staff page.
• Improv: Similar to Acting Improv at Lancaster, students play improv games. Produces a lot of laughs and in one incidence an impromptu roast of SRA John.
• Jim/Tim Facts: Originated in 16.1. RA Tim posted facts on his hall's bulletin board, dubbed "Tim Facts." Another RA, Jim, began doing the same, but posting false ones, such as, "If you put raisins in wine, they turn into grapes," or "France has a lot of lightning strikes because lightening always follows the path of least resistance."
• Joemma babies: Pronounced "joe-ma"; a collection of short stories developed by many students of the 06.2 Whodunit Class. It was based off the idea that Joe Suttin and Emma Youtsmith were having a summer romance. It was a favorite hobby of some in the class to use Joe and Emma in the stories that they had to write.
• Preppy Tuesday: The last Tuesday of the last week of a session. Just like Goth Monday but CAAmpers dress in preppy attire. Changed to Twin Tuesday in 16.1 and 16.2
• Sidewalk Chalk: An activity offered frequently in which participants draw on the sidewalk. Most common drawings are Illuminati signs and pentagrams. Pentagrams drawn in front of South College in 16.1 lead to many theories that the Baby CTYers were actually satanists. In fact, one BabyCTYer, Tim Hyun, drew an Illuminati symbol on literally every single brick in the path around the Quad.
• South College Hall: YS dorm and CTY main site office
• The Nevermore Song: A song to the tune of American Pie written in 06.2. Sung by each year's nevermores during the Talent Show.
• Wawa: Heaven on Earth. Home of F'real Milkshakes, 69-cent cup ramen and all-nighter food runs.

San Francisco

• Social movement: Dances are not permitted at SFSU because of campus policy, so in keeping with the site's focus on social justice, this Friday night tradition became publicized as the weekly social movement instead.

Seattle

• The Hat of Maximum Swag: a hat made of construction paper, casino night money, and cotton balls. When worn, it gives the wearer maximum swag.
• Liar's Dice: a game of deception originally promoted by the RAs. It eventually became a pastime as favored as Mao.
• The Floor 6 Student Lounge: a room on floor 6 that provided free wifi for all who entered. Being this land was devoid of wifi. Except for students with computer logins. (A hint for future Seattle students.)
  • As of 17.2, the guest wifi password is never given out. There will be many (often successful) attempts to hack the wifi throughout the session.
• "No Dying": a common greeting between RA and student, followed by "You can die all you want once the session is done."
• Land Narwhal: like unicorns, but more awesome.