Rice Purity Test Terms Explained: Every Confusing Word, in Plain Language

The Rice Purity Test was written by students decades ago, and some of its wording still sounds like it. If you have ever stopped mid-test and wondered what a question actually means, this glossary is for you — every dated, slangy, or abbreviated term on the list, explained plainly and without embarrassment.

One thing before the definitions: the list's wording varies a little between versions, because nobody owns the test and hosts reword it over time. The meanings below follow the classic 100-question version — the one you can take here — and where a term is genuinely ambiguous, we say so. If a question still confuses you after reading its definition, the test is self-reported: an item you do not understand counts as a "no". Nobody checks your answers, and there is no penalty for skipping something unclear.

People and Relationships

MPS — Member of the Preferred Sex

The list's most famous piece of dated wording. MPS is short for "member of the preferred sex", meaning someone you are attracted to, in the list's old-fashioned phrasing. Whenever a question says "with a MPS", read it as "with someone you were attracted to". Modern versions often reword it; the classic list keeps the abbreviation.

French Kiss

A kiss with tongues involved, as opposed to a closed-lip kiss. The list treats the two as separate milestones, which is why both appear as their own questions.

Hickey

A mark left on the skin by kissing or sucking hard enough to break tiny blood vessels. It shows up on the list twice — giving one and receiving one — because the list counts them as separate experiences.

Hookup

A casual romantic or physical encounter without a relationship attached. The word is deliberately vague on the list, and people use it vaguely in real life too — if you are unsure whether something counted, use your own judgment, since the test is self-reported.

One-Night Stand

A single casual encounter with someone you do not continue seeing afterwards. The list treats it as its own item, distinct from a hookup that turns into something longer.

Parties and Substances

Drinking Game

Any game where the rules involve drinking — the classic examples are played with cups, cards, or dice at parties. The list asks whether you have played one, not whether you won it.

Keg Stand

A party stunt where someone is held upside down over a beer keg to drink from its tap. It appears on the list as a party-milestone item, and it is one of the questions people most often ask about.

Body Shot

Drinking a shot of alcohol off someone else's body, usually with salt and a lime involved. A party item, like the keg stand — more about the occasion than the drink.

Blackout and Hangover

A blackout means drinking enough that you cannot remember parts of the night afterwards. A hangover is the rough morning after: headache, nausea, and regret, in varying proportions. The list asks about both as separate items.

MIP — Minor in Possession

MIP stands for "minor in possession", a legal term for someone under the drinking age caught holding alcohol. It is one of the list's legal items, and one of the few that involves an actual run-in with authority rather than just a story.

Public Moments and Dares

Streaking

Running naked in public, usually as a prank or dare. The list treats it as a public-dare item, and it is the one most often quoted back at people who take the test in groups.

Skinny Dipping

Swimming without clothes. Unlike streaking, it is usually a private or small-group thing rather than a public stunt — the list still counts it as its own experience.

Mooning

Showing your bare buttocks to someone, usually as a joke or insult. A prank item, and one of the milder public items on the list.

Flashing

Briefly exposing yourself to someone, usually as a prank. The list counts it separately from mooning, and separately from streaking, even though all three live in the same neighborhood of dares.

Rules, School, and Trouble

Cheating (Two Kinds)

The list asks about cheating in two separate places, and they are not the same question. Cheating on a test or assignment is academic dishonesty. Cheating on a partner is romantic dishonesty. Both cost one point each, because the list counts experiences, not sins.

Vandalism

Deliberately damaging someone else's property — graffiti, breaking things, defacing signs. The list asks whether you have done it, not whether you were caught.

Trespassing

Entering private property without permission, like cutting through a closed area or sneaking into a place you were not supposed to be. Another item where the story matters more than the consequence.

Fake ID

A false identification document, usually used to buy alcohol or enter venues before reaching the legal age. The list pairs it with being carded — asked to show ID — because the two experiences usually arrive together.

Words That Changed Meaning

A few list items confuse people not because they are slang, but because the words moved on. "Going steady" language, "making out" as a category rather than a single act, and the MPS abbreviation all belong to an era when students described dating differently. The experiences behind the words have not changed much — only the vocabulary has. When in doubt, read the question for the experience it describes, not the era it sounds like it came from.

That is also why our questions explained guide groups the list by theme rather than by wording: the themes are stable even when the words are not. And if you want to know what your answers add up to, the score meaning guide reads the number the same way this glossary reads the words — plainly, and without judgment.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does MPS mean on the Rice Purity Test?

MPS stands for "member of the preferred sex", the list's old-fashioned way of saying someone you are attracted to. It appears in several questions about experiences with a person you were attracted to.

What if I do not understand a Rice Purity Test question?

Count it as a "no". The test is self-reported and nobody checks your answers, so an unclear question should not cost you a point.

Are the terms the same on every version of the test?

Mostly, but not exactly. Hosts reword the list over time, so some versions replace dated terms with modern ones. The classic 100-question version keeps the original wording.

Does the test explain its own terms?

No — the classic list just asks, without definitions. That is why this glossary exists: to make each question answerable honestly instead of guessable.

Where can I read what the questions are grouped into?

Our questions explained guide groups all 100 questions by theme, from dating and romance through to the rarest items at the far end of the list.