cheat sheet
written notes used as reference material
TRANSLATION
cheat sheet = der Spickzettel --- GOOGLE INDEX cheat sheet: approximately 3,200,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
He glanced toward the teacher, and quickly slipped his CHEAT SHEET into an open slot under his desktop.
(Chicago Tribune)
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Click here for complete coverage of the Oscar-nominated films, the stars and their big night, plus an online ballot and printable CHEAT SHEET.
(CBS News)
(Chicago Tribune)
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Click here for complete coverage of the Oscar-nominated films, the stars and their big night, plus an online ballot and printable CHEAT SHEET.
(CBS News)
Did you
know?
cheat sheet (also called crib sheet)
noun phrase, slang
- a concise set of notes used for quick reference
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WORD ORIGIN
The word "cheat" stems from the Old French "escheat," which is a legal term describing when property reverts back to the state after someone dies. From this sense, escheat and eventually the modified form "cheat" were used to mean "confiscate" and then "take or do something unfairly." The latter remains the modern definition.
Cheat sheet originally referred to a small piece of paper with usually hand-written notes used by students during an exam. Students have always found creative ways to keep teachers from discovering the existence of cheat sheets: hiding them in the clothes or shoes or even writing notes on the palm of the hand.
Particularly in earlier times, students were expected to memorise everything in preparation for a test. This might include math and scientific formulas or dates of historical events. Education methods have been modernised and in some cases students are allowed to have certain reference material or aids (calculators for instance) during tests.
The term cheat sheet has expanded over the years to mean any type of quick reference material with an organised structure. Cheat sheets are common in computer programming. They offer software developers a quick list of commands and the action they perform.
What speakers and presenters simply refer to as "notes" might also be called cheat sheets these days.
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SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"I always have a mindmap cheat sheet to help me during presentations."
noun phrase, slang
- a concise set of notes used for quick reference
---
WORD ORIGIN
The word "cheat" stems from the Old French "escheat," which is a legal term describing when property reverts back to the state after someone dies. From this sense, escheat and eventually the modified form "cheat" were used to mean "confiscate" and then "take or do something unfairly." The latter remains the modern definition.
Cheat sheet originally referred to a small piece of paper with usually hand-written notes used by students during an exam. Students have always found creative ways to keep teachers from discovering the existence of cheat sheets: hiding them in the clothes or shoes or even writing notes on the palm of the hand.
Particularly in earlier times, students were expected to memorise everything in preparation for a test. This might include math and scientific formulas or dates of historical events. Education methods have been modernised and in some cases students are allowed to have certain reference material or aids (calculators for instance) during tests.
The term cheat sheet has expanded over the years to mean any type of quick reference material with an organised structure. Cheat sheets are common in computer programming. They offer software developers a quick list of commands and the action they perform.
What speakers and presenters simply refer to as "notes" might also be called cheat sheets these days.
---
SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"I always have a mindmap cheat sheet to help me during presentations."
