ACF (Ay-See-Eff) n.1. The acronym for Academic Competition Federation, a question organization based in Maryland. 2. The question format of the same name, known for packet-submission tournaments and ridiculously hard questions. 3. Death in question form. See also Bagel,  Crickets, Blah Blah Blah.

Bagel (bay-gehl) n. 1. A tasty treat available only in crappy form in Grinnell proper, prompting mass purchase of said treats when the team goes to tournaments in places bigger than Grinnell (i.e. everywhere). 2. The official toroid of the Grinnell College Academic Team. 3. Missing all three parts of a bonus, thus earning 0 points, something that happens in practice with depressing frequency. See also ACF.

Big Eunuch, the (Bihg YOO-nukh) n. 1. Not, in fact, the nickname of Randy Johnson, star pitcher of the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball club. 2. The stock answer, inadvertantly coined by ex-Fearless!Leader Mark Gardiner, for any sports question to which we have no real answer.

Blah Blah Blah (Blah-blah-blah) 1. interj. An interjection used to describe a question in which no useful information is given for the first  90% of the question, followed by a clue which allows every person in the room to know the answer. 2. n. a question which prompts the use of the interjection 'blah blah blah'. ('Blah, blah, blah, Name this Egyptian river.')  See also Buzzer Race.

Bork (BOHRK) n. 1. Bork, Robert, appointee of Ronald Reagan to the Supreme Court rejected by the Democrat-controlled Congress for being outspokenly conservative. 2. The name of our beloved buzzer system, bestowed by Mary Parker and Christine Vigeland. See also Judge.

Brain Fart (brayn fahrt) n. The condition wherein a person buzzes in on a tossup and immediately forgets the correct answer, which was in his or her head BEFORE the buzz. ('Um, Jackson's secretary of state was... um... Fuck! Brain Fart!')

Buzzer Race (BUH-zer rayce) n. A clue so glaringly obvious that most or all of the room is able to buzz in, thus subordinating superior knowledge to reflex. Particularly frustrating if the buzzer race is at the beginning of the question or at the end of a Blah blah blah. ('Born on April 20th, this Nazi Dictator...' ::buzz:: 'Damn buzzer races!')

Caffeine (Kaf-een) n. 1. A legal stimulant found in such substances as soft drinks, coffee, tea, and chocolate. 2. The substance to which, to a greater or lesser extent, the entirety of the Grinnell College Academic Team is addicted. 3. Mary fuel. ('There's too much blood in my caffeine system!')

Crickets (CRIHK-ehts) n. 1. Insects of the order orthoptera known primarily for their distinctive humming caused by the friction of their legs rubbing together. 2. Along with its fellow members of order orthoptera, the only kosher members of phylum Arthropoda. 3. Term, coined by Shelly Mills, used to indicate to the moderator that nobody is likely to answer the tossup and that he or she should move on rather than continue to allow the room to sit in painful silence. ('FTP, name this king of the Persians who is NOT named Cyrus, Darius, or Xerxes.'  ::pause:: 'Crickets!') See also ACF.

Judge, the (juhge, the) n. 1. The nearly indestructable buzzer system produced by Electramatic, Inc. of Minneapolis, MN, which the Grinnell team uses in practices and takes to tournaments for easy discounts. 2. According to the security staff at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, a bomb, causing a 15 minute delay in getting to our plane home at the 2002 NAQT nationals while Brad explained how it worked. (Ironically, O'Hare passed it through with little problem.) See also Bork.

Laugh (Laaf) v. 1.To manifest the combination of bodily phenomena (spasmodic utterance of inarticulate sounds, facial distortion, shaking of the sides, etc.) which forms the instinctive expression of mirth or of sense of something ludicrous, and which can also be occasioned by certain physical sensations, esp. that produced by tickling. 2. In the case of certain members of the Grinnell College Academic Team (esp. Shelly Mills, Christine Vigeland, and Mariel Young), to emit a destructive and mildly disturbing noise most closely approximating hyperventilation, resulting in such side effects as falling off chairs, having to stop practice until the noise goes away, or getting strange looks from the other team.

Motivation (moh-tih-VAY-shun) n. 1.The (conscious or unconscious) stimulus for action towards a desired goal, esp. as resulting from psychological or social factors. 2. Something the Grinnell team is often lacking, particularly during finals week. 3. Any of a series of large branches wielded by the moderator in an attempt to get people to answer questions correctly. See also Negstick.

NAQT (en-ay-kew-tee) n. 1. A quizzing organization founded by several former and current quizbowlers based in Ann Arbor, MI. 2. The question format of the same name, notable mainly for its balance of trash and academic knowledge and its power tossups. 3. The format preferred by the Grinnell College Academic Team, 'cause we've actually heard of most of the answers.

Negstick (NEHG-stihk) n. A large branch found on the ground brought into practice for intimidation purposes and/or operant conditioning. Comes in original, multi-pronged, and pine-scented varieties. See also Motivation.

Sliced Bread (Slysd brehd) n. 1. The greatest thing ever, apparently. 2. An object referred to in order to make favorable comparisons to almost anything, esp. if said comparison makes no sense. ('That was the greatest tossup since sliced bread.' 'Er, Brad, sliced bread isn't a tossup.' 'Um, I knew that. Shut up.')

Sit (siht) v. To not buzz in on a tossup when you know the answer, whether because you aren't sure you're right or because you feel that the answer is too obvious (a common error after playing large amounts of ACF ). Brad does this way too much.

There Is No Shame, Only Points (Ther is noh shaym, ohnly poynts) 1. phrase. A mantra repeated after the correct answer is given to a tossup of a particularly small amount of redeeming value or for which the knowledge of which is prosecutable in 12 states. 2. n. A lie. There is plenty of shame; we just don't CARE. ('Um... that's Jed Bartlet of the West Wing. ::pause:: It's so sad that I got that so early in the question.' 'There is no shame, only points.')

Trash (traash) 1. A format emphasizing knowledge of pop culture, un-pop culture, kitsch, or other knowledge that typically brands anybody in possession of such knowledge as a whore or stimulates the use of the mantra There is no Shame, Only Points. 2. Acronym for Testing Recall About Strange Happenings, the quizzing 'organization' which more or less officially coordinates the format, including running the annual TRASHionals tournament which Grinnell will go to if it's hosted close to us at some point. 3. The format about which the Grinnell College Academic Team is most divided, with approximately equal numbers of squeals of horror and squeals of delight whenever a trash packet is read.

Whore (hohr) n. 1. Someone who sells sexual favors for money or power. 2. Someone who knows an absurd amount of information on one subject, esp. if said subject is trashy or worthy of shame. Often meant pejoratively but accepted as positive. ('That is Dexy's Midnight Runners.' 'Steve, you're such a trash whore.') 3. When used in a general sense, Mary Parker, the official/unofficial Grinnell Quizbowl Whore. See also There is No Shame, Only Points.