prama
n.— «So began the after-prom on a recent Thursday for about 40 students from Tappan Zee High School in Rockland County, the culmination of months of discussions, planning and prom drama, or “prama,” as they call it.…In addition to the usual turmoil over dates and dresses, there is much prama over where to go after the prom and how to get there.…“People want to kill each other, they’re screaming their heads off,” said Alexa Zappulla, 18, describing the rampant prama at Tappan Zee. As recently as five or six years ago, high school students looking for a place to keep the party going after their prom could go to a club that allowed 18-year-olds.…» —“When the Big Dance Is Over, the Fun Is Just Beginning” by Melena Ryzik New York Times June 24, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Amid court-ordered busing in the 1970s, a middle-school teacher tried to distract her nervous students on the first day of class with this strange assignment: find a monarch caterpillar. The result? A memorable lesson in the miracle of metamorphosis...
In 1971, when a new public library opened in Troy, Michigan, famous authors and artists were invited to write letters to the city’s youngest readers, extolling the many benefits of libraries. One of the loveliest was from E.B. White, author of...