Radcliffy? Huh...?
October 27, 2005 10:09 AM   Subscribe

OkCupid filter: What exactly is 'radcliffy'?

A friend of mine querried me about this and I didn't have, nor could I find, a suitable answer. The OkCupid definition in the glossary didn't illuminate things for me with, "Consisting of the broad range of personality traits normally associated with Harvard girls." Wikipedia simply made me more lost, UrbanDictionary merely echoes the OkCupid definition and I even trudged through this thread without luck.

So what does it mean? Traits? Personality?
posted by whatitis to Society & Culture (8 answers total)
 
WASP-y. rich, preppy, uptight, white, lcarosse playing, BMW driving, etc.
posted by tristeza at 10:14 AM on October 27, 2005


Probably should be spelled "Radcliffey", too
posted by tristeza at 10:17 AM on October 27, 2005


An excellent question. I know I have a below average "radcliffy" score, and I am a female Ivy League (Brown) alumna...that's not super-helpful though.

From the glossary example it seems like it might describe someone who is sort of uptight and overachieving.
posted by nekton at 10:21 AM on October 27, 2005


Historically, "Cliffies" was used to describe those undesirable brainy girls who were agitating for access to Harvard's library system rather than learning how to darn their future husbands' socks. My father still refers to Harvard female undergrads as Cliffies, but I think he means it fondly.

Ali McGraw in Love Story is the quintessential Cliffie. Smart mouth, dark hair, big glasses, and very little simpering toward the object of her affections.

I hadn't heard "radcliffey" before, though. That just sounds stupid.
posted by occhiblu at 10:24 AM on October 27, 2005


Radcliffe was the women's college at Harvard. It was subsumed into the larger university in 1999, I think. Privileged, bookish, pent-up, these could be considered Radcliffy traits. As with most stereotypes, there is a kernel of truth there, but the truth is more layered.

Wellesley girls, now that's another story.
posted by nyterrant at 10:27 AM on October 27, 2005


This reminds me of the great Simpsons episode:

BARNARD (wearing glasses): We are the Seven Sisters. And you can attend any one of us! Like Barnard, Columbia's "girl next door."

RADCLIFFE: Come to Radcliffe and meet Harvard men.

WELLESLEY: Or come to Wellesley and marry them.

MOUNT HOLYOKE (slurring, champagne glass in hand): No. Party with me! (Falls face first.)

VASSAR: Or nonconform with me! (Raises arms, reveals hairy armpits.)

LISA: Uh . . .

SMITH (muscular, carries lacrosse stick, husky voice): Play lacrosse with me!

BRYN MAWR: Or explore with me! (She and SMITH kiss with passion.)

Text found at A Small Victory.
posted by GaelFC at 10:50 AM on October 27, 2005 [3 favorites]


Barnard should be wearing a black turtleneck and a beret. [I went to Barnard.]
posted by matildaben at 11:47 AM on October 27, 2005


B.U. to bed, Wellesley to wed, and Radcliffe to talk to.

Or so they told me, lo these many years ago.
posted by ikkyu2 at 1:52 PM on October 27, 2005


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