The slang term freshmonic describes a student who is perceived to be over-eager, usually demonstrating this in the form of answering or asking more than his or her allotment of questions in class, especially in lecture-format classes. Though piping up in class too frequently, disturbing the peace of less interested coursemates, is probably the fastest way to earn the epithet, freshmonicness (freshmonia?) can probably also be attained through any eagerness that stands out from the more jaded steadiness of the post-first-year Williams masses -- by vigor in an organization, team, entry meeting, etc. As one might guess, freshmonic can be said as a mild dig or mild praise, but either way it is said with a small, knowing grin.
Freshmonic probably derives from the more widespread term sophomoric, which describes a person who behaves, especially by speaking, as though he were wiser than he really is. The word probably derives from an oxymoronic pairing of the Greek words sophos and moros: wise and foolish. Over sophomoric, however, freshmonic has the added benefit of a resemblance to the word "demonic," and it may derive in part or entirely from this term.
Usage:
- "My God, that kid in the front row was asking, like, one question every slide in lecture today."
- "Yeah, I know, totally freshmonic."