School Life: English Vocabulary List

someone who is considered the teacher's favorite student and therefore has advantage over others in the classroom

"She is teacher's pet."

"The other students resented him, believing he was the teacher's pet due to his constant volunteering."

a student who jokes around and disrupts class to get laughs

"The class clown made everyone laugh."

"The class clown made funny faces during the lecture but failed to complete his assignments on time."

a student who scores so high on an exam that they ruin the grading curve for everyone else

"He is a curve killer."

"The curve killer scored a perfect grade making it impossible for anyone else to get an A."

a student in school band or orchestra, often seen as quirky or overly into band life

"The band kid practiced the flute daily."

"The band kid practiced his trumpet every morning before school much to his neighbors' annoyance."

a teacher who is easy-going and well liked by students

"The chill teacher let them eat in class."

"The chill teacher let students listen to music during independent work and rarely gave homework."

a girl who tries to boost her social status by bullying or being cliquey, often in high school

"The mean girl whispered about others."

"The mean girl spread rumors about her classmates and excluded others from her lunch table."

an easy class taken mainly to improve one's grade point average

"The easy class is a GPA booster."

"He took the elective photography class as a GPA booster because the teacher gave easy As."

a class that's known to be simple to pass or earn a high grade in

"The course is an easy A."

"The professor's tests were so simple that the course was considered an easy A by all students."

mental and physical exhaustion caused by too many video calls or online classes

"Zoom fatigue made her eyes tired."

"Zoom fatigue left her exhausted after seven hours of back to back video conference calls."

short for "homecoming," the annual school event with a dance and festivities

"The student went to hoco with friends."

"Our school's hoco was amazing this year, with a live band and decorations everywhere."

a creative or elaborate way of asking someone to prom

"His promposal included a banner."

"His promposal involved a flash mob in the cafeteria and a sign asking her to the dance."

a grade just high enough to pass a class or requirement, often earned with minimal effort

"He only cares about getting a D for diploma."

"The lazy student said D stands for diploma meaning he only cares about passing not getting good grades."

the act of quickly offloading all memorized knowledge, typically during a test

"She did a brain dump."

"Before the final exam, students were encouraged to perform a quick brain dump of all key facts."

to do something with minimal effort or enthusiasm

"She just phoned it in today."

"The bored actor phoned it in during the performance because he was tired of doing the same show every night."

to study or prepare intensively for something

"Bone up on your French before traveling."

"I need to bone up on my Spanish before my trip to Mexico next month."

to deliberately avoid work or put in minimal effort

"Do not slack off at work."

"The employee tends to slack off when the manager is not watching him closely."

to stay awake all night, usually to study, work, or complete a task

"I pulled an all-nighter to study."

"I had to pull an all nighter to finish my essay because the deadline was tomorrow morning."

to study in a determined and serious manner

"I need to hit the books."

"I need to hit the books tonight because I have a big exam tomorrow morning at school."

to open a book and study, often implying one rarely does so

"He never cracks a book."

"If you want to pass the final exam, you really need to crack a book and start studying seriously."

a male student athlete, often stereotyped as sporty but not academic

"The jock won."

"He was a typical jock, more interested in football practice than his academic studies."

someone who's aggressively competitive, especially in school or sports

"She's a gunner."

"As a notorious gunner in class, he constantly sought the professor's attention and top grades."

easy-going or lenient, often used to describe a teacher

"The teacher is safe."

"The professor was known for being a safe grader, rarely giving out low marks to diligent students."