Word: one
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Dates: during 1873-1873
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...some colleges a person of a religious turn of mind is variously denominated "evangelical," "long-ear," and "donkey." I confess myself as ignorant of the similarity which exists between these terms and that which they define as any from the ranks of the might be. While at Harvard "one of the b'hoys" means a jolly good fellow, the same thing is elsewhere denoted by "brick," "seed," and "varmint"; the latter word is in use at Cam-bridge, England. At Princeton College, if a student leaves town indebted to his shoemaker and others, he is said to "skunk them...
...words now in use here, such as "nuts," equivalent to "scrub," "mossy heads" to "senior," "cad" to "snob," "busky" to "sprung," "suck" to "crib"; but enough has been given. Even the tutors and professors are not exempted from nicknames, which are supposed to be more appropriate than the ones with which they were christened. Nearly every man in college has some word given him by his classmates which fits him better than it would any one else, generally taking its origin from some real or imagined foible. If he inclines to excessive eating, he may be dubbed "knight...
...wish to mention one example of a college-coined word, originating here, which has attained a celebrity equal to that which the students of Cambridge, England, have given to "Hobson's choice," and that is the word "Yankee." It was in circulation here about 1713. According to Dr. William Gordon, Farmer Jonathan Hastings was a man from whom the students used to hire horses. He would use the expression, "A Yankee good horse," to denote an excellent good horse. The students gave him the name of Yankee Jon. Yankee became a by-word to denote a silly, awkward person...
...which makes a sure addition to knowledge, but the careful study of those we master, and this involves much labor and time. A thorough acquaintance with a few good books is of more advantage to the student than the smattering gained by the hasty perusal of a great number, one following another in such rapid succession that the mind is unable to digest any of them, but just as Cambridge water poured through a sieve, they leave only the more prominent facts behind, while much that is of real value is lost. The practice so common of reading...
...indiscriminate acquaintance which many feel forced to maintain among "recent publications" deprives reading of its pleasure, and makes it for them a task; and no wonder, for who can feel any pleasure in turning the leaves of a book in which he feels no interest? One should read only as inclination leads him, for the mere skimming over a book as a task will do him but little good; if he satisfy that curiosity which leads to the study of a limited number of books, it will be of more advantage to him as an aid in the acquisition...