From sinner

Like all close-knit communities, St Andrews has its own slang. Terms, words and phrases that might appear impenetrable to the new-comer. The following is intended to alleviate some of that confusion but it is not a definitive list. St Andrews Speak changes all the time. Some of the following words may becoming obsolete. Some may already be so. However, it is just possible that you might hear them all still used.

Academic Parents - Older students who "adopt" bejants/tines. See "Raisin Weekend" in Traditions.

Advising - Talking to your advisor of studies about which courses you think you should be taking. Your advisor should check whether any of your choices clash with each other.

(The) Atholl - Common name for John Burnet Hall (formerly the Atholl Hotel).

Bejant - A male first year student.

Bejantine - A female first year student.

Bop - Formerly known as "Megabop" - a form of entertainment, held only on Friday nights, at which people dance. Badly.

Cardiac Hill / the Travelator - the pathway leading from Regs down to the Kinnessburn. A well trodden route for anyone living in the heart of residential St Andrews. So called because it's probably the steepest hill in St Andrews, and often seems impossible to climb. Its proper name is Dempster Brae.

Chattan - Common name for McIntosh Hall (part of which was Chattan House).

Cloister Race - Fairly self-explanatory. This is mainly a Debates tradition. Commemorated in the immortal lines "Where, after dark, by dint of port, debaters race amidst the cloister'd court".

Cloud 9 - Old name for Venue2 (see also Fraser Suite).

Director - A sabbatical who isn't Association President. The successors to the old Vice-Presidents.

DRA - David Russell Apartments.

DRH - David Russell Hall. The name and the hall have now been replaced by DRA.

Fraser Suite - Old name for Cloud 9. Or, if you like, an even older name for Venue2.

Freshers' Week - Orientation Week (see also Presesh, but not Fresher's Week)

Gatty - Nickname for Albany Park. From the nearby Gatty Marine Laboratory.

Gaudie - More commonly used name for the Gaudeamus.

Gaudeamus - The student song traditionally sung at debates, graduations etc. Its first line is "gaudeamus igitur iuvenes dum sumus." Catchy, isn't it?

Graduand - A student who has taken their final exams but not yet graduated.

Hack - A term of endearment or abuse (depending on who is using it) for a person involved in some aspect of extra-curricular student life e.g. Union hack, Debates hack or Saint hack etc.

Hall - Original nickname for University Hall.

Himalayas - The infamous putting green adjacent to the Old Course. So named for the not-very-flat nature of the terrain. Belongs to the Ladies Putting Club but is open to all. Frustration is included in the ticket price.

Impossible Stairs - Steps at the end of the path between DRA and the North Haugh. So named because it is impossible to walk down them in a normal, dignified manner.

Kilmallie - The original annexe to John Burnet Hall.

Library – The name formerly given to one of the rooms on the top floor of the Union that is curiously, for a library, empty of books. Persistent rumour has it that there never were any books. See Reading Room.

Magistrand - A fourth-year undergraduate.

Matriculation - The process of formally registering as a student of the university. Consists of Advising (talking to a person about your courses) and Registration (where you register for the academic year, and the dirty subject of fees is gotten out of the way).

Matric Card - Your student ID card.

North Haugh - This is where you'll find most of the science buildings, as well as New Hall and Andrew Melville Hall

Onion - An allegedly humorous, but definitely annoying, nickname for the Union. Every year someone thinks they invent this name and therefore use it ad nauseum for the rest of their student days. The truth is, however, that it has been around for donkeys' years. It wasn't funny then, and it's not funny now.

Pre-advising - recently computerised mediaeval system of telling the university your personal details and course intentions.

Pre-Sesh Week - Old name for Orientation Week.

Quad - Quadrangle. Either Sallies Quad (which is usually just "the Quad") or St Mary's Quad.

Raisin Weekend - Annual celebration for bejants.

Random - An excellent word, used in all sorts of places other than St Andrews. 'Random' can be used for all sorts of things - a 'random' snog, or a 'random' night... basically, it describes St Andrews pretty well!

Reading Room – In this room people were supposed to sit and read the books from the Library room next door. Consequently very little reading ever took place here.

Regs - Abbreviation for St Regulus Hall.

Russell - Earlier nickname for DRH.

Sabbaticals or Sabbs – One of five students who, either by taking a year out from their studies or on graduation, are elected, and given a stipend, to do very important things in the Union. The four sabbatical posts in the Students' Association are Association President, Director of Representation, Director of Events and Services, and Director of Student Development and Activities. The Athletic Union President is also a sabbatical.

Salad Bowl – This is yet another strangely named room on the top floor of the Union. You can find it next to the Fraser Suite / Cloud 9 / Venue 2. Formerly served as a dining area. Now more used for meetings and society type things. Go along and marvel at the sub-Gauguin wall painting and wonder why anyone would ever think it a good idea.

Sallies - St Salvator's Hall.

Sallies Quad - Open space between St Salvator's Chapel and the buildings of St Salvator's College.

Semi - Stop sniggering, it's not what you think. A second year. Short for semi-bejant.

(The) Shoebox - The "new" John Burnet Hall Annexe. The one that isn't Kilmallie.

SRC – The Students’ Representative Council. The SRC consists of the sabbaticals, officers and other elected convenors and is there to represent you. It is also the only body the University recognises as competent to relay student concerns.

SSC - The Students' Services Committee is the other half of the Students' Association. (See also SRC.) The SSC comprises the sabbaticals and other elected officials and is responsible for the social side of the Union, e.g. the bars, entertainments, bops. It used to be called the Union Management Committee. The previous name was much more sensible as at least it suggested what it was supposed to do, if not what it did.

St Mary's Quad - Open space part of St Mary's College (Faculty of Divinity.)

Sunset Strip – The path, along the cliff top, that leads from the castle to the cathedral. It is so called because the many benches along it have made it one of the traditional places to watch the sun set.

Tertian - A third-year undergraduate.

Toytown - Very early name for Fife Park (student houses.) Reason: just look at it!

UMC - The Union Management Committee. Older, and more sensible, name for the SSC.

Uni Hall - University Hall

Union - This can either be the name for the corporate body which forms half of the Students' Association, or - and more usually - it is what people call the Students' Association Building.

Union Theatre - Another name for Venue1.

Venue1 - The large theatre/dance hall where the bop is held. Was built as a debating hall, and is the largest seated venue in Fife.

Venue2 - The entertainments room on the top floor of the Union building. Previously called the Fraser Suite and Cloud 9, this room plays host to all sorts of theatrical and musical productions, including the weekly RockSoc disco.

Virgin Megastore - an old nickname for University Hall. Before it became a mixed hall in 1994, it was women only. Wardlaw wing is the only part of a hall of residence in St Andrews to remain single sex.

Wee Alasdair - An early, and now little used, name for male equivalent of a Wee Mary.

Wee Mary - A now seldom used term for a certain type of female student. The sort that never goes out, works all the time, drinks only cocoa, has work planners rather than posters on walls. You know the sort of thing.

Yah - Infamous breed of student usually from English public schools who seem proud to be Oxbridge rejects. Note: not all students from English public schools are Yahs. Yah is an insult. Not a generic term.