They dont give 2:1's out for nothing.
A light hearted look at the grading system.....
Undergraduate degree honours slang
An interesting form of rhyming slang has developed from degree classes, relying on the names of famous people that sound similar to the classes:
A First is known as a Geoff Hurst/Damien Hirst (as 'First' sounds like 'Hurst' or 'Hirst')
A 2:1 is known as an Attila the Hun (as '2:1' sounds like 'the Hun')
A 2:2 is known as a Desmond Tutu (as '2:2' sounds like 'Tutu')
A Third is known as a Douglas Hurd/Thora Hird (as 'Third' sounds like 'Hurd' or 'Hird')
According with the conventions of rhyming slang, only the person's first name is used. Thus, one can be awarded a Geoff (First), Attila (2:1), Desmond (2:2), or a Douglas (Third).
In addition, 2:2s are often light heartedly referred to as 'drinker's degrees', with the implication that the graduate spent more time in the students' union bar than studying. A Third is sometimes known as a 'Richard' after the monarch Richard III of England/Richard III or a 'Vorderman' as British TV celebrity mathematician Carol Vorderman only received a Third at university. Finally, a pass degree is sometimes known as a 'Khyber' (after the cockney rhyming slang phrase 'Khyber Pass').
At the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, a Third has also been called a ' gentleman's ' (degree). It is an archaic term that used to be used to describe the poor performance of students who were only admitted due to their prestigious family background. For most of their long history, Oxford and Cambridge only admitted men.
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki...lassifications
