Your official unofficial Penn State University dictionary
Does this count as assigned reading?
At Penn State, we basically have our own dialect of English in this Happy little Valley. When calling home to catch up with parents or talking with friends from high school, it’s almost like you’re speaking a different language and it’s easy to get frustrated with them for not understanding. How could they not know what FTK means or what Pokey Stix are?
Help them out. Here is your (un)official PSU dictionary. You’re welcome.
Atherton
Real Word (RW): n. Helped turn Penn State from an unrecognized college to a land-grant institution
Penn State University (PSU): n. The random-ass grave you pass on your way to class
Beaver Canyon
RW: n. A central living location where upperclassmen live downtown
PSU: n. Front and center housing to watch the riots with easy accessibility to mattress surfing
BJC
RW: n. Concert and event arena at University Park
PSU: n. The house, the house of THON
Bloop/Woop
RW: n. Two common bus routes that travel clockwise and counterclockwise around campus
PSU: n. A vehicle that will transport your drunk ass from East Halls to downtown
Cafe 210 West
RW: n. A bar located at 210 West College Avenue
PSU: n. A bar you skip class to go to to get wasted on some pitchers of Tea
Canning
RW: v. A way of preserving fruits and vegetables
PSU: v. How the largest student run philanthropy in the world raises money for pediatric cancer
Canyon Pizza
RW: n. A pizza place downtown
PSU: n. Dollar slices of pizza that only taste good when you’re drunk
CATA
RW: n. Centre Area Transportation Authority
PSU: n. Transportation if you’re willing to wait for it
Chicken Basket
RW: n. Just chicken fingers and fries
PSU: n. The classic game day chicken fingers and fries combo from Beaver Stadium and the only reason we buy season tickets tbh
Dorito Church
RW: n. A place of worship
PSU: n. A reference point when giving directions to literally anywhere
Fat Bitch
RW: n. That popular girl from high school who has definitely gained some weight in college
PSU: n. A borderline disgusting sandwich. It’s like taking every fried appetizer you can think of, putting it on a bun and covering it in mayo
Frat row
RW: n. Where all the frats are located
PSU: n. Where you lose your dignity every weekend as an underclassmen
Fracket
RW: n. Jacket worn when traveling to fratland
PSU: n. The beat-up sweatshirt (probably from a bar mitzvah) that you lose after fratting
FTK
RW: n. For The Kids
PSU: n. THON’s trademarked slogan used throughout the year to raise money for cancer
Halloweekend
RW: n. An entire weekend of Halloween
PSU: n. An excuse to look ridiculous and wear next to nothing
HUB
RW: n. Penn State’s student recreation center
PSU: n. Literally the only place you eat lunch besides occasionally ABP–good luck finding a seat though
Indigo
RW: n. The dark blue dye obtained from the Indigo plant
PSU: n. A club whose line you’ll wait in for over two hours to get dollar drinks until midnight
Late Night
RW: n. Staying up late with friends
PSU: n. The post-game at a friends apartment and/or the menu in South at night during the week
Mclanie’s
RW: n. A family business, short for McLanahan’s
PSU: n. The only place to grocery shop in all of downtown, which also means it’s the most expensive
Monkey Boy
RW: n. A silly or goofy boy; boy who resembles a monkey
PSU: n. The best liquor pitcher deal complete with a dozen maraschino cherries
Natty Lite
RW: n. Natural Light Beer
PSU: n. The crusty, stale smelling stuff on the frat floors
Old Main
RW: n. Penn State’s administrative building, also the address
PSU: n. Does this really need a definition?
P-Man
RW: n. Short for the popular Pittsburgh restaurant, Primanti Brothers
PSU: n. A way to remember the infamous Gingerbread Man (G-man) bar
Pokey Stix
RW: n. Cheesy, garlic bread/pizza cross-breed
PSU: n. The best drunk food in State College from Gumby’s
Redifer
RW: n. South dining halls
PSU: n. Where all sorority girls congregate and eat every meal, every day
Riot
RW: v. To take part in a violent public disturbance
PSU: v. Just your average weekend activity
Squirrel Girl
RW: n. Mary Krupa, current Penn State graduate student
PSU: n. Lord of the squirrels, has gained mass amounts of fame for dressing up these small rodents on Old Main lawn
Srat Life
RW: n. Girls who are in sororities
PSU: n. Girls walking around campus in their letters and jumping up and down on bid day at Old Main
Sylly Week
RW: n. The first week of school that is a time to get organized with your syllabuses and classes
PSU: n. Time to party every single night for a straight week
THON
RW: n. A college dance marathon that raises money for pediatric cancer
PSU: n. The world’s largest student-run philanthropy that we work toward all year, standing for 46-hours
Toon Town
RW: n. The Penn State satellite campus in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
PSU: n. Where the University Park wannabes live
Townie
RW: n. A person who lives in a town
PSU: n. Someone who has never left Centre County in their lifetime but are always in close proximity to a home cooked meal
Vlad
RW: n. The international student you have Chem 110 with
PSU: n. Bottom shelf liquor that we somehow stomach every weekend
Willard Preacher
RW: n. The preacher outside of Willard building every day
PSU: n. The crazy old man who makes us feel bad about our sins when we’re walking in and out of class
46 Hours
RW: n. Almost two full days
PSU: n. The amount of time the dancers in THON will stand at the BJC