Urban’s Dictionary

As a small private school nested in the Haight-Ashbury area, Urban students have developed idiosyncratic mannerisms reflective of such an environment. One such manifestation is in the vernacular used in the community, which is often interpreted as gibberish by outsiders to the Urban bubble. The subsequent terms are to help decipher such idioms. Credit goes to Urban Alum Colin Heath ‘17, who started the “Urban Dictionary.”

 

B·Y·I 

/bi-waɪ-aɪ/

Acronym

  1. Term coined by retired Urban teacher Richard Lautze; standing for “Beyond Your Imagination,” and is used as such.
  2. Thus far it is the most widely recognized interpretation of Urban’s overly vague (but on-brand) mascot — the Blues. Being a Blue is a state of mind that is “Beyond Your Imagination,” essentially saying what a ‘Blue’ can be is up to you.

“Urban’s just not like the other girls, she’s just BYI. You wouldn’t understand.” – Corinne Wan ‘24 

Quir·ky 

/ˈkwɜrki/

Adjective

  1. Uniquely different or *special*, synonymous with “built different.” Often used in positive contexts in an idiosyncratic manner (use in a sarcastic manner often implies a negative context).

“I just made a graph of a quirky function q(x). Just to make it quirkier, I want to shift it to the right 5 units and up 2.3 units.” – Introduction to Functions reader

Slay

/sleɪ/

Noun

  1. Verbal acknowledgment of another’s accomplishment. Derived from the now dinosaur-like metaphorical interpretation of “killed,” as in “killed it.”

Person 1: “My math interim went much better than I expected.”

Person 2: “That’s a slay.”

Verb

  1. To skillfully perform a task.

Person 1: “Yo I won the student council elections.” 

Person 2: “Slay.”

  • August Starr ‘23
StuCen

/stucen/

Noun

  1. Abbreviated reference to the Student Center on the second floor of the Page campus, where students congregate to socialize, study (somehow) and buy marked-up food due to convenience.

“Meet at StuCen for the 15-minute break.”

Old building and new building

/oʊld ˈbɪldɪŋ/ – /nu ˈbɪldɪŋ/

Noun

  1. Age-related references to the Page and Oak campuses, respectively.

“Is Terra Incognita in the new building or old building? I always forget.” 

StuCo

/stuco/

Noun

  1. Short for Student Committee, run by the Poti (plural form of the president of the Urban School, also known as P.O.T.U.S) and Dean of Student Activities, Skyler Silverman. Infamous for futile attempts to rejuvenate school spirit, but hopefully that will change this year.

“StuCo is currently planning the tripleheader volleyball game, which will happen later this fall.”

Gardy

/Gardy/

Noun

  1. A conglomeration of the two terms garden and party, denoting a StuCo-sponsored party in the backyard of the Page campus. Often is underwhelming in attendance due to conflicts with clubs, affinity spaces and lack of relative interest compared to hanging out with friends.

“There’s a gardy today for the tripleheader tonight. Bring your friends!”

Fit

/ˈfɪt/

Noun

  1. An abridged version of the word “outfit.” Grew to popularity due to lack of efficiency created by pronouncing three extra letters.

“I like the fit.”

Adjective

  1. To be well dressed.

“He’s fitted today” 

Nice

/nīs/

Adjective

  1. To be adept at a certain task, although it was initially used for physical activity, has since been stretched to have pertinence in academic contexts.

“Ask them. They’re nice at chemistry.”

Verb

  1. The action of giving an object to a recipient. Can also be shamefully used when the recipient of the “nicing” has forgotten something and is asking another to borrow a referenced object.


“I forgot my pencil. Can you nice me one?”

Dean Joke

/din ʤoʊk/

Noun

  1. A relabled facade for a dad joke told by a grade dean, often followed by sparse laughter and clapping by an unimpressed crowd.

Ricco Siasoco, class of 2024 dean: “Want to hear another dean joke?”

Class of 2024: Audible “no”s among indistinct side chatter

Yearbook

/ˈjɪrˌbʊk/

Noun

  1. The objectively inferior E period. Superior journalism students often use said group as a derisive adjective, emphasizing that they only get half a credit and produce one issue per year.

“Imagine being on yearbook.” – The Urban Legend