Query: "Sheff." at Yale (1899)

[Laurence Horn]

At 5:09 PM -0500 3/25/02, Jesse Sheidlower wrote:
>  >
>>     I now have another question, and I suppose Larry Horn would be the
>>  most likely one to be able to provide an answer: What is (or was)
>>  "Sheff." at Yale?
>>  Barry Popik, while researching "hot dog," turned up the following brief
>>  item:
>>  Feb. 18, 1899-- humor magazine _The Yale Record_, vol. 27, no. 8, p.
>>  79:(title): 'The Serious Obstacle Surmounted':
>>   '"Lots of men coming down to Sheff. next year, they say."
>>     "Yes, they have a dog wagon there now, you know."'
>>
>>     Would anyone have an idea about this "Sheff."?
>
>19th century Yale was split into two schools, "Ac." and "Sheff.",
>or the Academical Department (liberal arts) and the Sheffield
>Scientific School (scientists and engineers). There's a lot about
>the rivalries etc. in any Yale history.
>
>Jesse Sheidlower
>OED

Oops, beat me to it.  Yes, Sheff. is definitely Sheffield.  One of
the older gothic buildings here that's used for both academic (e.g.
Psychology) and adminstrative (e.g. Yale College Dean's Office)
purposes is universally known as SSS, but is officially
Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall.  No dog wagons nearby, but
there's a nice Mogul food cart parked right across Prospect Street
and the "hot dog lady" (as my son used to call her) has a wagon at
the Peabody Museum just three blocks from SSS at the foot of Science
Hill, so dog-loving science buffs are still welcome.

larry