Day 47

Only 79 school days left in 2009! Woo hoo!

Here's some of the lingo on B'more's East Side. It will serve you well if your car ever breaks down on Harford Road near North Ave.

pluck (v coll): to smack sharply across the head with an open palm. Students will announce their intention to do this just before a resounding slap sounds, as in "I'ma pluck you, fool!"

pack (v coll): to criticize, to ridicule in a humorous and exaggerated fashion. Students will say "Yo I'm about to pack you" before saying "Mr. G them socks so bushy they look like a buffalo leg," at which point the instructor teaches about similes, using the example just cited.

ride (v coll): to pack someone, but at a more serious, merciless level. Again, students announce their intention to engage in this behavior by saying "I'ma ride you," before tearing down someone's shoes, pants, shirt, hair, skin, parents, grandparents, cousins, taste in music, phone, MySpace page profile photo, etc.

swirl (v coll): to roughly grab the back of someone's head with a palm and snap the person's neck in a quick motion. Students will say "swirls" and then try to see if they can catch each other off-guard.

snuff (v coll): to put out; to render non-living; to eradicate; to send to perdition. Somebody says this to you, get your game face on and prepare either to defend yourself or flee. Someone says "yo I'ma snuff you!" they typically mean business.