Rocks for Jocks, etc. (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Garson O'Toole]

Dave Wilton wrote:
> I would guess "Darkness at Noon" is art history, due to the slide
> presentations characteristic of the course,  a.k.a. "Art in the Dark."

That agrees with the list of college course nicknames given in the
Dictionary of Jargon excerpt listed below. The interpretation given by
John Baker for "nuts and sluts" is supported, and the class mentioned
by Gregory McNamee is included in the list.

Citation: 1987, Dictionary of Jargon by Jonathon Green, Page 124,
Routledge. (Google Books limited view)

blabs in labs (linguistics),
chokes and croaks (first aid and safety education),
clapping for credit (music appreciation),
darkness at noon (art history slide show),
Gods for clods (comparative religion),
holes and poles (sex education), …
nuts and sluts (abnormal psychology),
… Several more are listed in the text.

http://books.google.com/books?id=P0QOAAAAQAAJ&q=darkness+noon#v=snippet&

On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 5:47 PM, Dave Wilton <dave at wilton.net> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Dave Wilton <dave at WILTON.NET>
> Subject:      Re: Rocks for Jocks, etc.   (UNCLASSIFIED)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I would guess "Darkness at Noon" is art history, due to the slide
> presentations characteristic of the course,  a.k.a. "Art in the Dark."
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of
> Mullins, Bill AMRDEC
> Sent: Monday, April 26, 2010 11:11 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Rocks for Jocks, etc. (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
> >From a recent P. J. O'Rourke essay:
>
> http://weeklystandard.com/articles/plague-%E2%80%98a%E2%80%99-students
>
> " We sit once more packed into the vast, dreary confines of a freshman
> survey course-"Rocks for Jocks," "Nuts and Sluts," "Darkness at Noon." "
>
> I recognize "Rocks for Jocks" as a derisive name for Geology 101 in the
> form of a crip course which would be an easy elective "A".  But I don't
> get the other references.  Context would seem to indicate that they,
> too, are crip courses.  What are they?
>
>
> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
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