Phat (adj).
Pronunciation: [faet]; rhymes with 'bat' and sounds like 'fat'
Definition: A descriptive, colloquial word commonly used by teenagers and college students on the East Coast to express high approval of something. They use the word interchangeably with 'awesome' or 'cool'.
Attested: I first heard this word upon my arrival at Cornell at the Ithaca airport since people on the West Coast do not use this word. One student said to the other, "Wow, your new coat is phat!"
Example: "Hey, your new haircut is PHAT, man! Where'd you get it?"
Etymology: The word certainly orinated on the East Coast. I once heard that the word is an acronym for Pretty Hot and Tempting. For convenience's sake, over the years people shortened it to PHAT.
- Dorrie Tong

Platter
Rhymes with "fatter"
Definition: Also used when ordering a sandwich at a cash-op dinging facitlity, letting the server know that you want fries with you meal.
Usage: "Can I get a cheeseburgher platter to go?"
Attested: I was introduced to this term when I started eatting at Cornell dining facilities as a child.
Etymology: this term was probably coined by the Campus Life Dining Administration. It includes fris, a sandwich, and a drink. It is the opposite of a la carte
- Steve Terry

Pledge (noun)
Pronunciation: pl- rhymes with "hedge"
Definition: A person that has decided to join a fraternaty or a sorority that has accepted them, but is not a brother or sister yet
Attested: I heard of this in the beginning of this year, but did not become one until this spring.
Etymology: Let's make the pledges buy us some Hot Truck; what do you say?
Etymology: The word is derived from the meaning pledge, which is to make a formal promise. These people promise that they will uphold the traditions of the fraternaty or sorority, but they must learn the ways of the house first. This learning process must be completed by every brother or sister before he/she is allowed to officially join the house.
- Amy Gorman

Pledging (verb)
Pronunciation: rhymes with ledge and sing
Definition: to be in the process of entering a fraternity or sorority; it is usual for people pledging to be required by the brothers or sisters of the organizations to do strange things, such as dressing alike and marching in step up Libe Slope.
Attested: I first heard this in junior high because a friend of mine was talking about how his brother decided to pledge a fraternity.
Usage: "Hey, rush is over. Which house do you like the best? Are you PLEDGING?"
Etymology: I believe this word is derived from "pledge", which is a formal promise given to someone. People give devout promises to fraternities and sororities to love their brothers and sisters always and to keep all the house secrets when they join the houses. Because of all these promises and pledges, people began to call term joining a house "pledging".
- Dorrie Tong

II. Definition: hell.
Attested: I first encountered pledging the spring
Example: It is hard to do any work when your so busy with pledging.
Etymology: Pledging comes from the fact you give your word to a fraternity that you will join their house. It's definition is derived from the fact that it is the most time consuming process, and often leaves participants questioning, " Why I am doing this?"
Dave Britton

Pre-eliminate (verb)
pri-ilImInetEd
Definition: what happens when a person does not do well on a prelim
Attested: When a friend of mine came back of a prelim, she used this verb in devastation
Example: "That prelim just pre-eliminated me."
Etymology: This new verb plays on its similarity with "prelim", suggesting that a person is eliminated (from Cornell, or the GPA race) before taking final exams. Since usually prelims at Cornell are not easy, the students had to create a word that expressed their desolation after prelims. Some students have found this verb quite funny and therefore use it after all their prelims, hoping that they will attract a few laughs.
- Naim Dharghouth

Prefrosh
Pronunciation: rhymes with 'free' and rhymes with 'gosh'
Definition: A person who is not yet a freshman in college. Usually such a person is a senior in high school and goes to the colleges to visit.
Attested: I first heard this word when I received all the prefrosh information from colleges in April and May.
Usuage: Are you going to be hosting a prefrosh this week?
Etymology: The word was most likely "prefreshman" until people decided to shorten "freshman" to "frosh". This shortening appears in many cases and many times one can hear people talking about the "frosh football game" or the "orientation for the froshes". Because "pre" means before, it makes a great deal of sense to put it in front of "frosh" as these people are not yet freshman.
- Dorrie Tong

Prelim (noun)
rhymes with "free" "gym"
Definition: a preliminary examination; a test other than the final exam
Attested: I learned what a prelim is on my first day of class when my proffesors announced the dates of our prelims.
Example: I have to study tonight for my prelim in economics.
Etymology: The word arose as an abbreviated way of saying preliminary examination. In highschool, this would be called a midterm or just a test. This might be a common name for a test at other colleges, but I have never heard it outside of Cornell.
- John Moyer

Pre-med pri m(epsilon)d
Definition:
1) a student who is hoping to one day be a doctor
2) the concentration that leads to medical school
Attested: Someone introduced themselves, and when asked what their major they answered "pre-med".
Example: "Pre-meds must take orgo."
Etymology: Pre-med is short for pre-medical student. A pre-med must take a few biology, chemistry, and physics courses. People usually regard pre-med to be one of the most competitive and cut-throat majors in Cornell. This is because to get in medical school, a GPA of at least 3.5 is needed. Since everyone is competing against the mean, everyone wants to do better than the rest.
- Naim Darghouth

Procrastinate (verb)
Pro-kras-te-nate/ rhymes with debate
Definition: to delay doing something (usually homework and studying) until a later time; to postpone needlessly; to waste time in order to avoid working at an unpleasant duty
Attested: I became a true artist of procrastination early on in high school, but did not refine my craft until reaching Cornell and received 200 pages of reading the first week of classes.
Example: Yeah, I have a ten-page paper to write for tomorrow. But Ill do it later. I just want to procrastinate right now.
Etymology: A widely used term among high school and college students, it is heard with extreme frequency at Cornell due to the heavy work load, granting students more opportunity to want to procrastinate and delay starting their studying.
- Dorman Tong Puddle-of-a-human
pronounciation: puddle (as in mud puddle)
Definition: Someone that is very very drunk
Attested: I first heard this phrase used at track practice in April.
Usage: "I'm going to be a puddle-of-a-human on Slope Day!"
Etymology: I think this phrase came about for two reasons: 1) Someone gets drunk and lays down (or passes out) on the ground like a puddle.
2) Someone drinks alot and gets completely saturated (internally and their clothes) - wet like a puddle.
- Steve Terry

The Pumpkin (noun)
Definition: A certain pumpkin that was placed at the top of The Bell Tower of which no one knew who or how it had been placed there.
Attestation: I first heard of the "Pumpkin Mystery" when I was a senior in high school and one of my friends brought in an article from the New York Times showing a picture and telling the story of how this extremely large pumpkin had been placed at the top of the bell tower at Cornell.
Example: They never figured out who put that enormous pumpkin at the top of the bell tower.
Etymology: This is a word that is used to describe all round orange vegetable that grows along vines on the ground, but to Cornellians the mention of a pumpkin will for sure bring back memories of a time when the one specific pumpkin was what the buzz all over campus was about. It is one of the great mysteries in Cornell's history of where that great pumpkin came from.
- Sandy Tushingham