Red Rose Cave and Pothole Club - Newsletter Vol 2 No 2 - Summer 1964
SPELEOLOGICAL DICTIONARY - Part 1
By J Eyre
ABSEIL. To fall down a pitch carrying a rope neatly coiled over
the left arm.
ABYSS. A Potholers mouth.
ACTIVE SYSTEM. A potholers stomach
AFTERGLOW. The- pale green semi-luminous look
on ones face the morning after the club dinner.
ANEMOLITE. A female
potholer,
AVEN. A quiet corner of a pub.
BEDROCK. Rock with spring shaped fossils.
BEDDING- PLANE. A foul word.
BELLY. A loud shout from below..
BLOWHOIE. See Abyss.
BLUE JOHN. John
down a wet hole.
B0GGART. A Yorkshire potholer.
BOREHOLE. A club meet.
BOSS. A potholers wife.
BOULDER CLAY. That which leaves stain on good shirt.
BOWLINE. A magic word that makes a granny knot
safe.
BUDDLING. Courting couple down a hole.
BRECCIA. The small rocks which fall on ones bonce.
CALCITE. Queer white stuff.
CALCEROUS. A contagious disease off calcite.
CANAL. A
pool over three inches deep.
CAVE. A hole over three inches
wide.
CAVE PEARLS. See Anemolite.
CAVERN. See Blowhole.
CAVERNOPHILOUS. A form of life that exists
temporarily or accidently underground, i.e.
a potholer.
CHAMBER. A
former utilitarian domestic article.
CHARNEL HOUSE. I. A pub after
potholers dinner.
CHASM. A hole
over 5 ft. 6 ins, deep.
CHIMNEY. A
aperture in the roof of some better class houses.
CHOKE. What
members would like to do to a club leader
CLAU3TROPHOBIA.
An ailment peculiar to dogs
that have been bitten
by potholers.
CONGLOMERATE. A rude word used by Cave
Guides.
CORNICE. A cone shaped biscuit containing
ice cream.
CRAWLING. A
method of scrounging a pint.
CURTAINS. When
the wife catches you coming home
late.
DEBOUCHURE. A French term meaning to be sick.
DIG. A hole dug in a unique position,
e.g. middle of a footpath. A large variety of interesting specimens can be caught
this way, e.g. sheep, ducks, farmers, etc.
DUCK. A small fat thing
with feathers. (See save Pearls)
EBBING AND Pint pots at potholers dinner.
FLOWING PO0L.
ENTOMOLOGY. A scientific study of
potholers.
EYE HOLE. A
small hole in the head.
FOSSILS. Members
of a committee.
HALL. A character
better known as “Nobby” !
HYDROLOGY. Turning public water supplies a nice
shade of green.
IMPERVIOUS STRATA. The inside
of a potholers bonce.
KNEE WRECKER. A prayer meeting without prayer
mats.
LABYRINTH. A new hole.
LIFELINE. A
rope thrown down to people below, usually both ends.
MARTEL. The
potholers DAD. (Brandy)
MASTER CAVE. An imaginary cavity.
MORPHOLOGY. The study of the form or shape of
things, i.e. women.
OGO OGOF. A
swear word used by Welsh Cavers.
OOLITE. A small grain
composed of concentric layers. i.e. a potholers brain
OOLOPHITE. A Cave
Flower (See Duck).
OUTCROP. The
growth on a potholers shoulders.
PEARL NEST Three or more female potholers in a
hole.
PETROLOGY The art of syphoning
petrol tanks.
PITCH. A point
reached down hole where most members return.
PHREATIC CAVE A cave for educated cavers.
POTHOLE A girt
gaping ‘oil in’t ground.
POTHOLER A fellow
of low mentality who descends girt gaping ‘oil in’t
ground. Can be recognised by his sharply sloping forehead which
is caused by coming into contact with low beams on pub ceilings and cave roofs (in that
order). An exponent in the art of supping girt quantities of
ale, chasing women and swearing. They come in two sizes, thin and too fat. The
thin fellows
are usually nervous wrecks, whilst the fat fellow are a happy, contented, sun burnt
lot.
RAKE. A
potholer with his best suit on.
RELATIVE HUMIDITY. Unfriendly
relatives.
REPTATION. Stuck in an impossible crawl,
waiting for the C.R.O.
RESURGENCE. Opening time when potholers reappear
on the surface. RIP FAULT. The parting of a potholer and his
trousers.
RISING. Getting
out of bed before 11.00 a.m.
ROOM. What caves
are short of.
ROPE. Can be
anything from a bobbin of cotton to a hawser.
TO BE CONCLUDED
IN THE NEXT ISSUE.