A team of physics PhDs works tirelessly in an isolated bunker under the UChicago quadrangle, unrelenting in their quest to uncover the universal secrets of quantum mechanics. Nearby at the Oriental Institute, lifelong archaeologists (likely wearing fedoras and wielding leather bullwhips) push day and night to make sense of ancient hieroglyphics etched by a civilization long extinct from this world.
Meanwhile, over at the Harper Center, a new first-year student asks a friend, “what’s this crop circle I keep hearing about?” It’s not the Martian invasion – it’s round 2 of the official Boothie Decoder Ring!
Crop Circle (noun) – you’re not being abducted by aliens, but you may very well wish you were. A crop circle is what happens when a group of MBAs surround a firm representative at a networking event. Crop circles can range from informative and useful to a pretty awkward social experience, depending on who is in your circle.
Ex: “I’m never talking to her again, she cut me off in a crop circle last week and now I’ll never land a job with Bain!”
Footnotes (noun) – didn’t get enough accounting in Accounting? Wondering what lies beyond the balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flows? Then BUS 30116, Accounting and Financial Analysis I (Footnote Accounting, or just Footnotes for short) is the course for you!
LOR (noun) – not to be confused with LOTR (Lord of the Rings), LOR is an acronym for Leadership Orientation Retreat, the annual 3-day first-year Boothie migration to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin prior to the start of fall classes. A critical part of the LEAD curriculum, LOR is where a Booth class really comes together for the first time.
Ex: “My favorite part of LOR was sizing up the competition by asking all 590 of my classmates what they were recruiting for.”
Belgian Halloween (noun) – an awesome Halloween party, thrown every October by the Booth Belgian Club. I can’t remember how they ended up owning this tradition, but the beer selection is always top notch.
The Pub / Ida Noyes (noun) – the only real bar on campus, conveniently located a stone’s throw from the Harper Center (in the basement of Ida Noyes Hall). The UChicago Pub has an old-school Manhattan Project feel to it, like if you moved a couch you might find a cocktail napkin with the plans for nuclear fission scribbled on it.
Ex: “I’m going to be late to TNDC, got caught in a nasty game of Euchre at The Pub.”
Double Maroon (noun) – the few, the proud, the people who didn’t get enough of Hyde Park in their first four years here. Double Maroons are those who attended UChicago for undergrad and are back for their MBA at Booth (or pursuing any other UChicago grad degree, I suppose).
Ex: “I caught Bill throwing a Frisbee around on the quad the last time we had a warm day. He’s a Double Maroon, remembering simpler times I guess.”
That’s all for now! If you missed it, be sure to check out Episode I for your introduction to Boothie slang & euphemism. If there’s any Booth-specific language you’d love decoded by TBE, please send any suggestions to [email protected].
