speddie
n.— «Since this was the 80’s, kids who struggled in school were relegated to—and often sequestered in (including lunch)—the so-called “Sped” room and likewise referred to by teachers and kids as “speddies’”retards,” and other choice terms. I went to middle school in the 80’s and can still remember walking past the Special Education department and looking in, feeling incredibly uncomfortable.» —“A Heating Pad Strapped to My Head and Some Thoughts on Victimization” by Hinsley Ford The Oxygen Chronicles (Bangore, Maine) Aug. 25, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
She sells seashells by the seashore. Who is the she in this tongue twister? Some claim it’s the young Mary Anning, who went on to become a famous 19th-century British paleontologist. Dubious perhaps, but the story of her rise from seaside...
“What has a head like a cat, feet like a cat, a tail like a cat, but isn’t a cat?” Answer: a kitten! A 1948 children’s joke book has lots of these to share with kids. Plus: an easy explanation for the difference between...