A. B., n. Area Bird, term used to designate one who regularly
walks the area.
B. A., n. Busted aristocrat. Title given to a cadet officer who
has been deprived of his chevrons.
B-ache, n. An official explanation of a report.
B-ache, v. To submit an explanation, to talk.
Beast, n. Name given to new cadets during their first few weeks
at M. A.
Beast Barracks, n. Designation for the period of time a man is
a beast: the first three weeks when he is quartered in barracks.
Bird, n. See A. B.
B. J., a. Literally means “bold before June”; as applied to a
fourth classman who is impertinent and fresh.
Black Book, n. Regulations, U. S. M. A.
Blasé, a. Indifferent. Syn. B. J.
Bone, v. To study.
—— check book. To be economical.
—— dis. To try to avoid getting demerits.
—— efficiency. To be military for no apparent reason.
—— files. To strive for class standing.
—— make. To strive for chevrons.
—— muck. To endeavor to increase in brawn.
—— tenths. To study hard for a better mark.
Boodle, n. General term used to designate all eatables, contraband.
Boodler’s, n. The confectioner’s.
Bootlick, v. To curry favor obsequiously, to praise.
Bootlick, n. A “stand in.”
Bootlick Alley, n. A street passing in front of the officers’ tents
in camp (off limits to plebes).
Brace, n. Term applied to muscular efforts of fourth classmen
to look military.
Brace, v. To assume an excessive military position. Obsolete.
B. S., n. Loquaciousness; superfluity of talk.
B. S., v. To be loquacious.
Buck, n. Cadet in ranks; one who has no chevrons.
Bugle, v. To stand at the board all the period to escape reciting.
(Not applicable to first-class year).
Bump, v. To deprive cadet officer of chevrons.
Butt, n. The remainder of anything, as the butt of a skag; of a
month.
Cit., n. A Civilian.
Cits., n. Civilian clothing.
Clean Sleeve, n. A cadet who has never worn chevrons.
Com., n. Commandant of Cadets.
Con., n. Confinement.
Corp., n. Corporal.
Crawl, v. To correct or rebuke someone (especially fourth
classmen) in a severe manner.
Crawling, n. A rebuke.
Deadbeat, n. An easy job; one who deadbeats.
Deadbeat, v. To avoid some distasteful duty.
Dis., n. Discipline.
Dissy, a. Lacking in demerits.
Div., n. A division of barracks.
Doughboys, n. The infantry.
Drag, v. To escort a lady; to pull a man out of bed; to pull off a
pair of white trousers.
Drag, n. A puff of skag.
Femme, n. A member of the fair sex.
Fess, v. To fail.
Fess, n. A failure.
File, n. A member of the male sex; one of the successive grades
in military rank.
Find, v. To find deficient and discharge.
Flirtation, n. Flirtation Walk.
Formation, n. Any military function or military gathering.
Fried Egg, n. The crest of the U. S. M. A. used on the cap and
full dress hat.
Gig, v. To report for a delinquency.
Gig List, n. The delinquency list.
Goat, n. A low ranking man in any subject.
Grind, n. A joke.
West Point Grind, n. A practical joke of the kind in which the
victim sees no humor.
Gross, a. Lacking in intelligence.
Growley, n. Tomato catsup.
Growley, v. To blush.
Gum, v. To make a mistake.
Gumstick, n. One who is in the habit of gumming it.
Hell Cats, n. The U. S. M. A. detachment of field music.
Hell Dodgers, n. Active members of the Y. M. C. A.
Hive, v. To understand; to discover.
Hivey, a. Smart, brainy, able to understand things.
Ignorance and Gummery, n. Ordnance and Gunnery.
Juliet, n. A cadet who enters in July.
Laundry Spike, n. An especially long pin used by the laundry;
a girl who works in the laundry.
Limits, n. The boundary beyond which a cadet may not go.
L. P., n. A person who is undesirable.
L. P., v. To give an undesirable task to anyone.
Make, n. A cadet officer.
Max, n. A perfect mark.
Max, v. To finish a job in a perfect manner.
Missouri National, n. A tune supposed to bring rain.
Muck, n. Muscle.
O. C., n. The Officer in Charge.
O. D., n. The Officer of the Day.
O. G., n. The Officer of the Guard.
—oid. A suffix added to a noun or a verb to denote the agent by
which the action in the noun or verb is accomplished, i. e.
Ridoid—one who rides; Hopoid—one who attends hops.
P., n. A Professor.
P. C. S., n. Previous condition of servitude. Occupation before
entering.
P. D., n. Pennsylvania Dutchman.
Pipe, v. To look forward to anything; to build castles in the
air.
Plebe, n. A fourth classman.
Plebeskin, n. A flannel blouse issued to new cadets. Very badly
fitting.
Plebeskin, n. A report for hazing.
P. M. E., n. Practical Military Engineering.
Podunk, n. A cadet’s home town. A name applied to any
small town to denote its insignificance; a local newspaper.
Police, v. To discard; to relegate to the scrap pile; to throw
from a horse’s back; to clean up, as to police a room.
Poop, v. To memorize verbatim.
Poop, n. One who memorizes by heart.
Poop Deck, n. The balcony of the south cadet guard house,
used by the officer in charge.
Pred., n. Predecessor; a cadet’s forerunner in office.
P. S., v. To spoon on the post.
Quill, n. A person addicted to reporting cadets on every opportunity; subject matter for a report.
Recognize, v. To admit a fourth classman to the upperclass
status.
Reverse, n. A position of disfavor, as to get a reverse on the
tac.
Run-it-on, v. To take advantage of.
Scavenge, v. To acquire something that someone else no longer
wants or has thrown away.
Skag, n. A cigarette.
Skin, n. A report for delinquency.
Skin, v. To report a delinquent.
Skin list, n. The delinquency list.
Slug, n. A disagreeable duty; an award of special punishment for
some major offense.
Soirée, n. An unpleasant task or duty.
Soirée, v. To cause inconvenience or annoyance.
Speck, v. To commit to memory.
Speck, n. One who commits to memory.
Slum, n. Mess Hall stew (unknown ingredients).
Soundoff, n. A voice capable of being heard at long range.
Sound off, v. To bellow; to use the voice to the limit of its
capacity.
Spoon, v. To court, amuse, entertain, or converse with a femme.
Spoony Up, v. To make neat or attractive.
Step Out, v. To hurry.
Sub-div., n. A subdivision of barracks: a cadet officer in charge
of a subdivision.
Supe, n. The Superintendent.
Tac, n. A Tactical Officer.
T. D., n. The Department of Tactics.
Tarbucket, n. The full dress hat.
Tenth, n. The smallest division of the West Point system of
marking.
Tie Up, v. To get a thing gloriously mixed up.
Turnback, n. A cadet who has been turned back to join the next
succeeding class.