"soup the professor"--1902 college slang (query)
Benjamin Zimmer
bgzimmer at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU
Sat Jul 29 14:24:15 UTC 2006
On 7/28/06, Cohen, Gerald Leonard <gcohen at umr.edu> wrote:
>
> Would anyone have any idea about "soup the professor"? It appears in the 1902
> article on college slang presented to ads-l by Benjamin Zimmer:
>
> 'A student who endeavors to get a high stand mark by favoritism is said to be
> "souping" the professor or "bellyaching" an instructor.'
I wonder if this might be a typo for "soaping". OED2 has "soap" = 'to
address with smooth or flattering words; to flatter' from 1853. Cf.
also "soft-soap".
--Ben Zimmer
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