Since the team page is on my account, I present my version of the lexicon-
in spite of the rating given by Dave Hamilton. Also, I deleted
the old entries that so amused Dave at the request of one B.R. from
Manassas, VA. Granted, those stories were pretty funny, but I was a
little dissapointed at the rating since I had put so much effort into
creating the new lexicon.
Besides, those were the stories of a different era. By golly, I alone
have enough personality quirks and episodes of strange behavior to create
a good lexicon, even if it involves another school taking potshots at my
neuroses. However, you're always free to suggest new entries or create
your own definitions, if only to annoy either yours truly or Dave
Hamilton, or both of us.
Basement of the Science Building, The Phrase borrowed from a tape
played on the Don and Mike Show. It refers to the subspecies of the quiz
bowl player that has a good knowledge of subjects such as science fiction
and comic books. Although many math, science, and engineering majors are
"from the basement of the Science Building", I am not one of them.
Instead, I could be the rarer "jock geek" (According to Steve Gray,
engineering majors qualify as geeks)
Berkeley Trash A trash packet that by definition contains way too
much sex, violence, and off the wall weird stuff in addition to questions
that really don't count as trash. At BCBC 3, groans were often heard when
the authors were announced as being from the Berkeley west coast trash
tournament that produced such questions.
Boomhauer- A moderator who reads too quickly, confusing one or both
teams. This is named in honor of the character from King of the Hill,
although it can also be used at times to describe my style of packet
reading.
Buzzgasam- A feeling of overwhelming excitement that overcomes some
players after a particularly good answer. Reactions to buzzgasams vary
among players, but if you ever hear moaning when you're standing outside
of a closed game room, you may be hearing a player have a buzzgasam.
(Otherwise, you probably don't want to know or imagine what else could be
happening given many qb players). Currently, the best example of a
buzzgasam that I can think of involved Shawn Pickrell and a tossup about
www.ourfirsttime.com at UMBC's 1998 trash tournament.
bw-3- Local resturaunt where team players occasionally congregate
to play NTN, although we prefer to play at Damon's, which unfortunately
decided to run QB-1 during the Thursday night college football season
instead of the sports trivia challenge. (Personally, I like QB-1 well
enough on Monday night or for Sunday games, but we'd like to go there on
Thurs. nights as well.) We intend to see just
how well we can do in the national rankings several times this year.
Cheerwine(TM) Soft Drink
The official offering to the Queen Goddess of Quiz Bowl, Allison Holmes.
(see the Georgetown lexicon for the source) The whole thing started as a
response to a question I wrote for a tournament that mentioned a
particular soft drink (which shall remain nameless). Anyway, since I was
attending Georgetown's tournament the week after, I thought that I would
bring two cases of the aforementioned beverage, with one for North
Carolina native Allison and the other for the tournament winner (the drink
is unavailable to those who reside north of Charlottesville). We did well
at the tournament, so I brought 2 2-liter bottles for Allison
for the Georgetown-hosted TRASH regional two weeks later.
"Conditioning, Conditioning, Conditioning"The mantra I repeat to my
teammates when they begin to complain about being tired midway through a
tournament or towards the end of a tournament..also used when people claim
to be tired just because the had to get up in the early morning hours of a
tournament day (5:30 or so....Since I have had early classes for most of
my years at UVA, getting up at a very early hour doesn't bother me as
much)
Contempt for the Question A phrase used to delineate the game plan
for CBI questions, which boils down to "buzz in quickly, the answers are
that obvious and poorly written".
Don and Mike Show - A
nationally syndicated radio show that
entertains a few people during trips to tournaments. I recommend playing
a tape of their 1997 Bad Song Show, if you can find one. This is also a
source of some other strange things that I'll say that are essentially
inside jokes to show listeners.
Euchre, Bob Identity given to a player on the Virginia Bob team
from a tournament that will remain anonymous.
Exit 43 A The exit on I-66 that takes you to U.S. 29 South
(Gainesville/Warrenton), also the exit that one takes from the D.C. area
to Charlottesville. I mention this since the exit ramp lines force you to
shift before the exit 43 B turnoff (29 North), confusing some passengers
who fear that I am exiting prematurely.
Fauquier County - My hometown of Warrenton is the county seat of
this Virginia county known for having an above-average capacity for
strangeness. If the psychologists who say that people are influenced by
their environment are correct, it could go a long way into understanding
my weirdness. Of course, due to its name and pronunciation
Hardcore- Phrase used by some people on the quizbowl circuit
to describe higher-difficulty level ACF questions. At least one of these
players, (probably the current Virginia lexicographer),apparently uses
this phrase since he lacks the necessary intellegence and/or education to
consistently score 30+ ppg on packets with these questions.(See Dave
Hamilton's review) Not to be confused with "Stump the Chump"
Honorary _______ Title given to some UVA players in that they are
the closest thing to an actual member of a certain group. For instance,
Steve Gray was once an "Honorary Southerner". I have been named an
"Honorary Texan" in recognition of some of my personality traits.
Innuendo A naturally occuring phenomenon that often manifests
itself in the conversations of some quiz bowlers. Symptoms include making
subtle sexual references while writing questions, quick recognition of
double entrendes, and use of the phrase "double entrendes".
"It's Just That Easy"-Phrase often heard after what appears to be
an obvious answer is actually the correct answer to the question..often
after several people could have buzzed in with the answer long before
anyone actually attempts to answer the question.
Masturbation- Phrase used by some on the mailing list to describe
the practice of discussing various side topics or bragging about the
prowess of themselves or others. One could argue that the practice of
team lexicography is in itself the ultimate form of masturbation, but I
disagree. However, at times, you could argue that a lot of Kleenex(TM)
seems to be used on the circuit (insert rim shot)
Nicknames Something that the current UVA team lacks, perhaps
because your current lexicogapher would be the only person who would use
them. However, I think it would be cool if we had individual nicknames,
much as some of the Georgetown players have nicknames.
"Punch and Judy Offense" - Old baseball term that I decided to
borrow to describe a team that has low bonus conversion during a game or
tournament. If "Pop Gun" is a funnier term, feel free to use that instead
of "Punch and Judy". Other alternatives: "George Welsh with a 21 point
lead offense", "Three and Out"
Premature Excitation - Answering a question that you were sure
you had the correct answer to, only to neg, often deflating a planned
buzzgasam. Typically, the respondant discovers that had he or she waited,
they would have heard a clue that would have allowed them to buzz in with
the correct answer, often within a word or two of the neg. Inevitably,
a premature excitation either prevents a teammate from nailing the
tossup or the tossup is not answered by the team with the free shot at
the question, further embarrassing the player.
Sarcasm Along
with
trash questions, something that has no place in a quality tournament. ;)
STAB - Shorthand for St. Anne's Bellfield,
a Charlottesville
private school that often appears at UVA tournaments, led by coach Randy
Cornell, a frequent moderator at our tournaments. Disclaimer: This
entry was meant to inform and not entertain.
Steinheice A 30-20-10-5-1 bonus named after its originator, the
current host of Tennessee Trashmasters. A sample "Steinheice" would go
like this:
30: This current UVA player was born in 1976 in Greenville, South
Carolina.
20: This music buff appeared in a crowd scene in the video of "Breakfast
at Tiffany's"
10: He earned his undergraduate degree in 3 years from The University in
1997 and was an Echols scholar.
5: In addition to being a Libertarian, he is also a Red Sox fan.Talk
about your noble lost causes
1: His first name is Steve and his last name is the same as a color.
A: Steve _ Gray _
"Stump the Chump" A phrase some people in the quiz bowl community
use for questions that are patently designed to be obscure to the lay
quiz-bowl player. (At least how I, a below-average player, see it)
Three and Out or "Punting" Any three-part bonus where the team
will not only score a grand total of nothing, but lack an educated guess
as to the answers. However, a captain with a good sense of humor may give
some goofy answers just for fun in such a situation. If playing by NAQT
rules, the clock can play a role in how quickly a team will punt.
Wahoo Warmageddon Warning: informative, non-entertaining
material ahead. - A proposed tournament that would take place over 24
hours, featuring random scheduling, moderator's discretion over scoring,
coffee and caffinated sodas that would only be available during the course
of play, and anything-goes "theme rounds" at the moderator's discretion
Wheelhouse A phrase borrowed from baseball to describe a question
that is in a particular subspecialty of a player's specialty that produces
a no-sweat 30 for a bonus or a very quick tossup answer. Typical examples
of wheelhouse boni include football questions for Brian Hight, British
rock musicians for Steve Gray and Babylon 5 for Alex Richman.
"You forget, you are talking to the great unknowledged and great
uncaring"
I uttered this memorable phrase one night at bw-3 in response to
a comment from Chris Lee, who, in his a fit of righteous indignation,
proclaimed that "Humphery Bogart made pictures, not movies". This line
became an immediate classic, actually remembered by people other than
myself.
Designed by Jamie
Plummer. Maintained by Brian M. Hight. Website
mail to
bmh3c@virginia.edu