"Let's get into character."
A quote for use before the start of an important match. Useful to excuse
things that look like questionable sportsmanship during match play to outsiders,
the implication being that you're way nicer out of character, even if you're
not.
(From the film "Pulp Fiction.")
"The hits just keep coming..."
Use when you've heard one too many chestnuts used for tossup lead-ins
in one packet. Or when you see two or more bonus questions with the exact
same answers as one you've seen before, especially if it's become cliched
(e.g. Ahura Mazda-Ahriman-Zend Avesta)
(From ex-Swarthmore player Fred Bush)
"It's always...[answer]!" or "Of course it's...[answer]!"
To sound like a better player than you are, whenever the other team
or one of your teammates gets a correct answer, this is the proper response.
(The former comes from the JHU lexicon, the latter from Tim Young)
"That's all they wanted?!"
Also useful for reputation inflation, this one is either for an easy
bonus (either yours or the opposition's), even if you got it wrong, or
as a synonym for "It's always..." or "Of course it's..."
(A quizbowl staple of unknown origin.)
"You should have gotten the tossup."
Use this one whenever one or more players on the opposing team has
a frustrated look on their faces while you struggle through some bonus
they desparately wanted. Sounds better if said with a hint of spite, as
do most things that originate in College Park.
(From Maryland lexicon.)
"Where's the trash?"
A favorite complaint of GW teams since time immemorial. If it's Terrapin
though, don't expect actual trash. Expect instead 1920's films or 1940's
sports. If it's College Bowl, there will be one coming up any minute now.
(It's even said at trash tournaments if a particular round has a lot of
old movies, old sports, or anything normally thought of as "geek trash.")
"That's [answer]... again!" or "That's still [answer]."
Said upon answering a repeat tossup or bonus part, to show off your
memory.
(A favorite of Cornell's Matt Colvin.)
"Oh, yeah, him [her/that]."
A useful double meaning ; depending on your inflection, either someone
you're trying to convince others you've heard of but blanked on or sarcastically
to make fun of the question writer playing "stump the chump."
(Another quizbowl staple of unknown origin.)
"Straight out of [reference book]"
Most often the reference book is either Benet's or "An Incomplete Education."
Make sure everyone knows you've read both these books (or any other reference
book) cover to cover, and can recognize questions taken from them. Highly
useful for embarassing question writers, particularly if they are in the
room at the time. Just don't get the question wrong while pointing out
the source.
(From Maryland lexicon.)
"Hmmm...somebody bought [book]."
Similar to "Straight out of...," it's said if one notices that a whole
bunch of questions came from one source. Since Benet's contains very little
other than literature, the usual suspects here are "An Incomplete Education"
and the World Almanac.
"That game just didn't happen."
Denial can be a very effective team unifier in the face of a game where
your team gets clobbered, particularly if that wasn't what you were ready
for going in.
"Damn, you're old!"
Since some current GWACC members were born during the Nixon administration
and some were Reagan babies, this is an utterance that comes up time and
time again. It is most often heard when conversation shifts to Saturday
morning TV or number of degrees earned.
"It's always Mahler!"
Because it's always Mahler.
"This is College Bowl!"
What to say to yourself during any College Bowl match when you're thinking
either that the answer can't possibly be that easy, or you're thinking
the answer is some highly obscure thing only you've heard of. Apparently,
GW team members weren't saying this to themselves enough at 1999 CBI NCT's.(From
Tim Young's days at Dartmouth, and the Oklahoma lexicon.)
"Tossup!"
As our lexicon says, if a player is about to reveal details about his/her
sexual history, ask you anything about your genitals, discuss some hideous
film like "Manos : The Hands of Fate," or argue with you about something
political or theological, or bring up anything else inappropriate for discussion
at that time and/or place, and you don't want any part of it, shout "Tossup!"
(A GW coinage.)
"Lame!"
Also contained in our lexicon, this one has tons of uses. Almost anything
on a road trip to a tournament can be "lamed," from topics of conversation
to music on the radio, including the use of the word "lame" itself. At
practice, a team member can move to "lame" a question packet, subject to
vote by those present. Unfortunately, most tournaments don't allow you
to "lame" bonus questions.
Anything containing the phrases "Know your role," "Smack-Down Hotel"
or anything else pertaining to "The Rock."
A way to get psyched pre-match. To get really into it, you have to
draw the corner of Know Your Role Blvd. and Jabroni Drive on a piece of
paper, just to make sure you know where your opponent will be checking
in, namely, the Smack-Down Hotel. If for some reason this doesn't work
(probably becuase other teams are copying us), references to Stone Cold
Steve Austin could make an acceptable substitute. Unfortunately, all Goldberg
ever says is "Who's Next?" and, let's face it, "Feel The Bang" (Diamond
Dallas Page's catchline) just sounds dumb.