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spinningtabletop's definitions

grind

A person who is always at work and accomplishes everything by brute force. Typically this refers to nerdy, square, uncool people in school.
"Did you see Robert's schedule this year? He's taking 6 AP classes!"

"Yeah, he never sleeps or goes out or does anything extracurricular."

"What a grind."
by spinningtabletop February 12, 2009
mugGet the grindmug.

mountain bike

A brand of bicycle intended for off-road use on dirt or gravel trails. There is no limit to how much you can spend on them. Some of the best ones are amazingly beautiful works of high-performance technology that are also tougher than nails.

Most mountain bikes, though, are bought for fairly cheap, sometimes under $100, at department stores under brands such as Mongoose, Schwinn, or Magna. These "mountain bikes" are covered with fancy graphics, lots of gears, and suspension, but actually work very poorly:

1) The components are all bottom-of-the line, even if they have good names such as Shimano. They are heavy, poorly machined, and wear out or break quickly. The gears will usually grind and skip no matter how well you adjust them. Rims are often steel, which quickly rusts and bends out of round, is very heavy, and is never seen on decent wheels.

2) They are no fun to ride. Most of them weight at least 31-35 pounds, and the full-suspension models weigh around 45! Try riding up a hill on one of these. Most people just ride them around the streets, and the knobby tires soak up so much energy you can actually hear it. Full suspension will completely absorb any power you put out. It feels like riding through mud.

Mountain bikes are extremely popular, though, accounting for over 90% of all bikes on the average college campus. They are easier to ride than road bikes, but will prevent you from ever enjoying bike riding. If they are used for off-road use, they simply become a toy like dirt bikes that you can't use for everyday transportation. Overall, I think they are a backwards development in cycling technology.
"Did you see my new mountain bike? It's loaded! It has full suspension, 24 gears, chrome rims..."

"Dude-do yourself a service and buy a road bike like mine. Then see if you can keep up with me on the road."
by spinningtabletop February 1, 2009
mugGet the mountain bikemug.

on your left

What cyclists say by convention as they pass each other on the road, or occasionally as they ride near pedestrians. It is infinitely more cool than mounting a dorky little horn or bell on your handlebars and squeezing it at every opportunity. It may not be always be strictly necessary, but it is a little courtesy that will get you cred and make you look experienced.
<College student races to class and overtakes a pack of spandex cyclists, but remains silent.>

"On your left! On your leeeeeft!" You gotta let us know! Where are your manners?"

<sound of metal crunching and muffled screams. this guy will not have to say this for a while.>
by spinningtabletop January 31, 2009
mugGet the on your leftmug.

higher

Pathetic attempt at the simple word 'raise.' Heard in southern california. Actually used by adults, if you can believe it.
"Aww man - they highered the price of weed!"

"Maybe that's a good thing"
by spinningtabletop May 17, 2010
mugGet the highermug.

plagiarism

What people who either can't write or are too lazy do whenever a paper is due. Any usage of someone else's writing as one's own is plagiarism, no matter how cleverly disguised (or not) it is.

Perhaps the most common way is to search for or download existing papers, cut and paste, change the wording superficially and scramble it a little, and turn it in as your own. Other common methods are to simply copy other students' work in one's class, changing it superficially, or to download or even buy papers online.

Any way you do it, it's a reprehensible practice that can, and should get you in big trouble. There are known cases where students have been held back a year, or even expelled. Unfortunately, plagiarism still seems to be a growing problem, and students usually get away with it.

(note: this entry written by a student)
Student: Why am I getting an A- for this paper?
Teacher: Because it matches three other students' as well as wikipedia.
Student: No way! I didn't do it!
Student: And you didn't prohibit it in the syllabus!
Teacher: sighs I ought to make you rewrite it, but-
Student: I'll sue you!

plagiarism
by spinningtabletop May 23, 2008
mugGet the plagiarismmug.

pushover pickup

1. A jacked-up pickup truck or SUV just begging to be pushed over. It would be a service to all other drivers on the road to humble one of these these top-heavy, oversized Urban Assault Vehicles.

2. What happens when a very pathetic, wimpy chick allows herself to be picked up by any guy mildly interested in her. Typically the guy becomes bored or dissatisfied after a short time and a breakup ensues.
1. See that pushover pickup that's tailgating me? I can't see anyone else on the road! At least in these Santa Ana winds here in the 909 should knock his truck over before my subcompact.

2. "Did you hear about Jason and Courtney? They like, totally broke up yesterday over the phone!"

"Yeah, seriously; I knew it was just another one of these pushover pickups that always fails after a month."
by spinningtabletop January 31, 2009
mugGet the pushover pickupmug.

prius

A very fashionable car that makes you look "environmentally conscious." People also think the fuel economy is unbelievably amazing.

The fact is, however, that if you are really interested in saving the environment and gas, a regular subcompact is a much better choice. Older subcompacts such as the Geo Metro, some Honda Civics, the Toyota Tercel, and so on actually got equal or better gas mileage, often above 50 mpg. There is also no electric motor or batteries to mess with, so they are cheaper and easier to fix. These reliable little cars are so cheap to buy and maintain today that it is ridiculous to claim a new Prius saves money.

They also have zero environmental impact, since the are already manufactured. In addition, hybrids' gigantic battery packs full of lead, toxic heavy metals and acid, screw the environment so badly that some people have calculated that a Hummer H3 has less environmental impact.

Also, conventional cars can be hundreds of pounds lighter without the batteries. Performance (and fuel economy) is improved. There is also more room/fewer ugly bulges/ lower aerodynamic profile without a battery pack.

However, this will not convince the liberals who only want to LOOK like they are on the right path.
Liberal nerd: "Everyone should own a Prius! It just makes sense! I can't believe it gets 45 mpg! I'm really just self-interested, because it will save me $$ in the long run!"

Liberal nerd who knows something about cars: Dude, my 1992 Honda Civic VX gets 60 mpg, and it looks better even though it's 17 years old. I bought it for $500 and I can do all the maintenance myself. It can also dust your battery pack on wheels.

Nerd 1: Hey, it's worth it for the status it gives me.
by Spinningtabletop February 3, 2009
mugGet the priusmug.

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