The Inevitable Nickname

A new take on blogging - the short anecdotal story. *Names have been obliterated to respect the privacy of those innocent/not-so-innocent people they pertain to.*

I find it funny how quickly nicknames can be created, circulate, etc. etc. Especially in a residence setting, on any given university campus. I can barely count the number of people I've "met" before actually being introduced just based on a nickname a rather astute friend of mine has given them. My favorite case : Scruffy ___, luckily not particularly sensitive. He wears silly hats. A lot. In public non-silly-hat-wearing places. Not necessarily a bad thing.
This friend of mine had met this Scruffy ___ and quickly discerned that this was the perfect name to "introduce" him to our little group with. So, before the point in time we had actually met, I knew who he was - by reputation and nickname only.
Coincidentally, our first actual meeting was also the day that we met our floor RA, Dell. I will tell you right now she is very sweet, without a malicious bone in her body, and that the following is a happening of mere chance, which is why it is downright hilarious.
We (a couple friends, the Nicknamer and Dell included) had just sat down to a mediocre cafeteria dinner when who should join us but Scruffy ___ and a few of his friends. In the brief seconds in which the Nicknamer managed to spot him coming over she said as an afterthought,
"Oh, there's Scruffy ___."
He sits down with us, we go through the introductions - name, what floor you live on, what city you came from, and what faculty you're in (it's a pretty standard procedure by week two), and he and Dell start up a conversation about something. I'm not really paying attention until I hear,
"So, how'd you get the nickname Scruffy ___?"
I freeze, anticipating the next moments - hilarity, or disaster?
The Nicknamer freezes, eyes wider than a kid in a candy store, quesidilla poised to be bitten.
Scruffy ___ gives an awkward smile, not understanding quiiiiite yet.
And Dell says,
"Ohhh, it was a secret nickname."
I burst out laughing, the Nicknamer makes awkward apologies and Scruffy ___ brushes it off. Life goes back to normal with the lesson learned - nick names, while a source of entertainment, are dangerous when places in the wrong hands. Case in point: Calling someone Hot ___ to their face. That situation does not even approach the possibility of comedy
At this point in time we have designed nicknames for an entire clan of people, and they are spreading rapidly. Cheeky ___. Scruffy ___. Hot ___. Sexy ___. The list goes on and on. You're probably on it, but no one's going to be blurting it out now.