Glossary
Antarctica is a unique continent in many ways. Perhaps because of this, and the degree of isolation Antarctic communities live in it has developed a dazzling array of slang words and phrases.
I've put this glossary together from Cool Antarctica's Antarctic Slang page and this Glossary of Antarctic Terms. I've tried to include the phrases that I've read about previously, but until I go I can't really say how commonly all these words are used. If you've been down south with the British Antarctic Survey and know any words I've missed, please let me know.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
Accumulation
Although there is very little precipitation at Halley, large amounts of snow is blown onto the ice shelf. Items on the surface become buried and regularly have to be dug out and lifted onto the surface. There can be as much as two metres of accumulation in a year.
Aurora
The display of "dancing" light patterns seen in areas of high latitudes - nearer the poles. Auroras are caused by magnetic storms from the sun releasing huge amounts of energy. The energy travels toward the Earth as an ionic cloud. On reaching the earth, the cloud "blows" over the poles and interacts with Earth's magnetic field. The ions interact with the ionosphere energize oxygen and nitrogen molecules which causes them to emit light.
B
Banana belt
The Antarctic Peninsula.
BAS
Acronym for British Antarctic Survey.
Bas sledge
Small wooden cargo sledge.
Basism
Word or phrase peculiar to BAS.
Beaker
A scientist.
Bealach
A Gaelic word for a col or mountain pass.
Bergs
Big section of shelf ice.
Bergy bits
A large piece of floating glacier ice, generally showing less than 5 meters above sea level but more than 1 metre and normally about 100-300 square meters in area.
Black Ice
Newly-formed iced over sea water. It is thin enough for the dark water to be visible through it and can be crossed only at speed by a light sledge.
Blizzard
A violent windstorm that carries dry snowflakes and is intensely cold.
Bog chisel
Ice crack probe, the symbol of a GA.
Bondu
Shelf ice.
Brash
Strips of broken sea ice.
Breakout
The summer breaking up and floating away of fast ice that has built up during winter.
Brize
RAF Brize Norton.
Bulldozer
Big yellow shovel.
C
Caboose
A small hut on skis that sleeps four people and has a stove in it for heat.
Caird Coast
The north-west coast of Coats Land (the area of the Antarctic that Halley is in). It was surveyed in January 1915 by Ernest Shackleton's British International Trans-Antarctic Expedition (BITAE) expedition. It was named after Sir James Caird (1864 - 1954), ship-owner and jute manufacturer of Dundee, who subscribed towards the cost of the expedition. Around the Hinge Zone the Caird Coast is where the Antarctic Plateau flows onto the sea and becomes the Brunt Ice Shelf.
Calving
The breaking away of a mass of ice from an ice wall or iceberg.
Cat
Sno-cat snow tractor.
Chasm
In the past the ice shelf has split from the mainland revealing an area of open sea that has then frozen. In places icebergs have also floated into this area and become frozen in providing some spectacular scenery.
Contrast
The ability to see details in the snow. When it's cloudy features on the snow surface are not visible and everything looks white - this is poor contrast and it makes travelling difficult.
Crawlies
Blowing snow that snakes along at ground level.
Creek
A small inlet in the ice cliffs. They tend to fill with snow and allow easy access from the ice shelf onto the frozen sea. There is a series of Creeks to the north of Halley numbered from one to ten.
Crevasse
A crack in the ice of an ice shelf or glacier. They're often covered with snow at the surface and so difficult to see.
Crossed stakes
Crossed flags or stakes are used to indicate where you shouldn't go. On the drum line between Halley and Second Chasm there are a set of crossed stakes to indicate where you need to begin linked travel, after travelling from base unlinked.
D
Degomble
Being outside in Antarctica in wind-driven snow makes a lot of the snow stick to your clothes and in nooks and crannies around back-pack etc. De-gombling is the process of removing this loosely attached snow before going indoors into a hut, base-building or tent where it would melt and make life more unpleasant.
Dingle
Excellent visibility.
Doo
A skidoo.
Doomix
Fuel for a doo.
Drift
When the wind blows loose snow over the surface. It generally happens when the wind is stronger than 15 knots. When the wind is stronger than 20 knots there will be snow up to head height and the visibility is seriously reduced.
Drift Snow
Loose snow that has been moved by the wind and has not yet compacted.
Drum line
A line of empty 45 gallon drums up to 500 metres apart, on the surface of the snow showing the route between two places. These drums have to be dug out of the snow and placed on the surface again around two times a year because of accumulation.
F
Fast Ice
Sea ice which forms and remains fast along the coast, where it is attached to the shore, between shoals or grounded icebergs.
Fidgob
Any job that is "gobbed" together using materials available at the time by a Fid. Not usually a very elegant solution due the improper materials and/or tools and/or inexpertise of the Fid concerned. Antarctica does, has always and probably always will, run on the equivalent of Fidgob solutions to broken apparatus and machinery.
Fidlet
A FID in his or her first year, sometimes considered as someone in their first summer south preceding the first winter after which they will be a Fid proper.
FIDS
"Falklands Islands Dependencies Survey" was the original name for the "British Antarctic Survey" (BAS). Members of FIDS referred to themselves as Fids and the name stuck. It is usually taken as meaning someone who has travelled to Antarctica and worked on a FIDS or BAS ship or base. Some purists maintain that it should only apply to those who have wintered on such a base.
Field
A part of the Antarctic that's not part of a base. A Field Trip is a trip away from the base, often camping.
Fingy
The pronunciation of F.N.G.. A derogatory term of for the F---ing New Guy (or Girl). Originally used in Vietnam to describe a solider on their first tour of duty.
First call
First visit of the season to a station by a ship.
Floes
Stretches of thick Sea Ice.
Flubber
Large rubber sub-surface fuel tanks used to store the large quantities of fuel needed to survive the winter.
Frostbite
Inflammation of the body, especially hands, face and feet, caused by exposure to extreme cold.
G
GA
General Assistant, although this is generally used to refer to a Field GA. Field GAs are very experienced mountaineers who help us to travel in the Antarctic. For the recreational field trips during the winter at Halley we have one GA along with three other people.
Gash
A Naval term that has two meanings, firstly it means rubbish or anything to be disposed of and secondly it describes an task or event. Many bases have a gash-rota whereby each member in turn is gashman for the day. This means that they help in the kitchen with menial tasks, wash-up, deal with the gash and generally carry out various base house-keeping duties.
German sledge
Big steel cargo sledge.
Glacier
A mass of slow-moving ice formed from accumulated snowfalls.
Grifter
Sewage pump.
Grifter shifter
Plumber.
Grips
Photographs, "getting the grips in" is an Antarctic occupation that can be taken to extremes. Particular incidents and occurrences can only be legitimately claimed to have occurred once the grips had been got in.
Grounded Ice
Any floating ice which is aground in shallow water.
Grounding Zone
An alternative name for features such as the Rumples.
Growlers
Mostly sub-surface bergs.
H
Hinge
Point at which the Continental Ice floats to become Shelf Ice.
Hollywood shower
An excessively long shower. Water is a rare commodity at Halley, as all water is obtained by shovelling snow into a melt tank. In bad weather this is a particularly thankless task, so in order to save water, shower time is severely limited.
Horizon
Horizontal Definition. The ease with which the sky can be distinguished from the land. Similar to contrast, cloud cover can give a poor horizon.
I
Ice shelf
Where ice is flowing off the main Antarctic plateau and is floating on the sea while still joined to the plateau. Halley Research Station is built on the Brunt Ice Shelf.
J
Jolly
A pleasure trip, can be used derisively "jolly merchant" for someone who always manages to get to go on the interesting trips. Summer only personnel may sometimes be referred to by winterers as "on a summer jolly"
Jumar
A mechanical device that attaches to a rope and will only move one way along the rope. Used for climbing up ropes to escape from crevasses.
K
Katabatic
Wind flowing downhill in response to gravity, e.g. masses of cold, dense air flowing down the seaward slopes of the Antarctic continent, forming strong local winds.
King FID
The BAS liaison representative on board ship.
Klatch
(Personal) belongings.
Kts
An abbreviation for knots. A measurement of speed; one knot is slightly faster than one mile an hour.
L
Last call
Last visit of the season to a station by a ship.
Lead
Any fracture or passageway through sea ice which is navigable by surface vessels.
Linked travel
When travelling in a region that may contain crevasses, on skidoos or on foot, you travel in pairs, linked to you partner by a rope. If one of you should fall into a crevasse then the other can stop you from going too far and help you to escape.
M
Manhaul
A sledging trip where the sledge is pulled by men rather than vehicles.
Mank
Overcast weather, particularly common in the maritime Antarctic.
Medevac
A contraction of "medical evacuation" - a special flight out for someone before their tour is over as a result of illness or injury.
Melt Pool
A small frozen body of fresh water in a glacier or snow surface.
Mukluks
Canadian cold weather boots. Soft outer, pale cream in colour with a very thick sole and a wool felt liner, very effective as long as you don't try to do any climbing or walking over uneven surfaces in them.
Munch
Dehydrated meat granules.
Muppet
See "Beaker".
N
Nunatak
The tip of a mountain that appears above the Antarctic icecap.
Nutty
All varieties of chocolate bars and sweets.
O
OAE
Old Antarctic Explorer. Someone who's been around in Antarctica for a while, several summers, or at least a Winter, the more the better of course.
Offensive potatoes
Tinned potatoes.
Oggin
The sea.
P
Pack
Broken pieces of floating ice which forms when storms or warmer weather melt the sea ice.
Pit
Bed.
Pitroom
Bedroom.
Probing
Trying to break through the surface snow layer to find crevasses.
Q
Queen FID
Politically correct King Fid.
R
Relief
Resupply of a base.
Rumples
An area of the Brunt Ice Shelf to the north-east of Halley where the shelf is running over rocks sticking up from the seabed. Its full name is the McDonald Ice Rumples and was roughly charted in January 1915 by Shackleton's BITAE expedition. It was named after Allan McDonald of the British Association of Magallanes, Punta Arenas Chile, who was mainly responsible for raising funds (in 3 days) for sending the British relief expedition in Emma on the third abortive attempt, in July 1916, to rescue the Endurance Party on Elephant Island.
S
Sastrugi
Ripples on the snow surface caused by the wind.
Sawdust
Dehydrated cabbage.
Sched
A pre-arranged conversation over the radio.
Scradge
Food.
Sea smoke
Mist given off by the freezing sea.
Skidoo
Small tracked vehicle with a ski at the front for steering. Each skidoo can carry one person and tow a sledge.
Slack
Poorly done, often applied to gash - "slack gash" is a withering admonishment and difficult to live down.
Slot
Crevasse.
Slotted
Something that happens if you fall into a crevasse, an almost ubiquitous hazard in Antarctica as the wind-blown snow often covers up these tapering cracks in the ice with a snow bridge that can easily be 50ft+ (over 16m) wide. The weakest part of the snow bridge is going to be the middle of course. Falling into a crevasse without a rope to stop you has to be one of the most unpleasant ways to go. There's a deep enough fall for you to pick up a fair speed before you get wedged into the narrowing space at the bottom (known as "corking in"). Assuming you don't crack your head on the way down and are still alive, you will become aware of being held by your pelvis or ribcage that may well have broken in the process. You now have to get out while firmly wedged and in some considerable pain. If not roped up you will be dependent on whoever is on the surface, so hope they've a long enough rope. To make matters worse it will probably be pitch black or at least very dim and if it's summer there's a possibility that the bottom of the crevasse may even contain very cold meltwater. Vehicles can also be slotted.
Smoko
Coffee or tea break, a Naval term. Smoko is a bit more of an event than just stopping work for a break, the whole base pretty much would go to the dining room and drink / chat / eat.
South
The Antarctic.
Springer
A summer worker who arrives before the main hoards.
Survey pole
A pole left upright in the snow. Periodically its position is measured and allows the movement of the ice shelf to be measured.
T
Tescos
Food storage at Fossil Bluff.
Thrutch
Something difficult or awkward. Usually applied to progress through deep or poor snow conditions.
To blat off
To take lots of photographs.
Twotter
Twin Otter aircraft.
U
Unit
A sledge, tent and all the other gear needed to survive in the Antarctic. A half-unit has a smaller tent and less equipment, and is taken on day trips in case you are forced to spend an unplanned night away from your main camp.
V
Vis
Visibility.
W
Warm day
Anything above -20.0°C.
Whiteout
A weather condition in which the horizon cannot be identified and there are no shadows. The clouds in the sky and the white snow on the ground blend - described as like walking along inside a ping-pong ball. White out conditions are potentially dangerous because it is difficult to find a point of reference and it is very easy to walk over a cliff or all down a crevasse in such conditions.
Windies
Ventile windproof jacket and over trousers. Apparently old fashioned and low tech, but remarkably practical and much loved by generations of Fids.
Wx
Weather.