Sometimes Local High School Slang Doesn’t Make It Beeg, but It’s Still a Part of Us

Lisa lives in Columbia, South Carolina, but went to high school in Brockport, New York. There, a certain type of student was called a beeg or beeger. Such a classmate was likely a fan of Iron Maiden, wore their hair in a mullet, and smoked in the bathroom–the late 1980s version of greasers. She’s not heard the word anywhere else, but on the “Remembering Brockport” Facebook page, she and her fellow alums have speculated that beeg and beeger might derive from beagle, because those students were always bumming cigarettes like a hungry hound begs for food, or perhaps a mispronunciation of beige, a reference to looking crapulent after a night of partying. In a previous conversation about high-school cliques, we’ve also discussed student groups dubbed Hessians and heshers, among others, such as jocks, nerds, and grits. This is part of a complete episode.