the.com/prerequisite

The locked door you must open before you're allowed to be confused by the next one.

means A requirement that must be satisfied before you're allowed to move on to something else.

from From Latin prae- 'before' plus requisitum, 'thing required,' itself from requirere, 'to seek again, need' — a word built, fittingly, from re- 'again' and quaerere 'to ask or seek.' So buried in its own roots is the idea of asking again and again until the condition is met — the word performs the very gatekeeping it describes.

academic bouncer
checks your ID before letting you into Calc II
etymology
latin for required beforehand, shocking no one
real purpose
ensures professors can skip explaining the basics
loophole
sometimes just means pay the registrar again
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