A lot of people have common phrases that have become attached to their personality, more like a signature. Anytime you see them or hear the phrase somewhere, you will immediately remember the person.
I do not have a personal catchphrase, or maybe I do but I do not know it yet. I tried to think deeply, hoping to find one that I am connected with, but nothing came to mind. Maybe the few friends I have would be able to know and point out if I actually have a catchphrase attached to my name.
The one I want to talk about in this post is the one from school, which came from our MTH lecturer in year one and two. He usually says, “Are you in my loyal list?” Once he says this, everyone knows exactly what he is referring to.
At the beginning of our first semester, we did not understand it at first because he used the phrase repeatedly during his lectures in a joking manner. He would suddenly stop talking, point at a student, tell the person to stand up, and then ask, “Are you in my loyal list?” The class would burst into laughter without even waiting for the student to reply whether they were in his loyal list or not.
Not long after, we came to understand that the loyal list he was always referring to meant being among the students who had paid him money either to get good marks in tests (Continuous Assessment) or to pass the exam.
When we finally got the meaning, we began to joke with the phrase to the extent that we even started calling him by the name.
Things like: “Is Mr Loyal List not coming today?”“Did you do Loyal List assignment?”
And so many others.
The lecturer was so bold in the way he collected bribes to pass students. Everyone in the school knew about him, including the management board, but there was nothing they could do. That alone tells you how corrupt the school system is.
Till today, whenever I am conversing with some of my friends from the university, we still use that phrase to crack jokes and laugh about our shared sorrows.