First Day Geocaching - Help

[Wolffette]

What is "SWAG" ?

What is "BYOP easy"?

 

What other acronyms should I know to read the information on the listings for caches?

Thank you for helping a newbie to the geocaching world.

 

[+FancoverFive]

What is "SWAG" ?

What is "BYOP easy"?

 

What other acronyms should I know to read the information on the listings for caches?

Thank you for helping a newbie to the geocaching world.

 

 

Swag isn't an acronym, it just refers to trade items that you can move in and out of caches. "BYOP" means "bring your own pen", as there probably isn't one inside the cache. For more help, you can see the Geocaching Glossary of Terms.

 

Welcome to geocaching, and be careful - it's addictive!

 

EDIT: That page I linked to just proved me wrong - apparently SWAG means "Stuff We All Get", which does include trade items.

Edited March 21, 2010 by FancoverFive

[+Chrysalides]

EDIT: That page I linked to just proved me wrong - apparently SWAG means "Stuff We All Get", which does include trade items.

FWIW, Wikipedia says that "swag" is a backronym - the word came first, then the acronym is made up.

 

According to the same wikipedia entry, swag is slang term for cocaine. Not sure how popular that is, but if approached by a police officer while geocaching, and asked what you have in your bag, don't say "oh, just swag"

 

Incidentally, "schwag" refers to low grade marijuana - another reason not to use "swag" in the presence of law enforcement. In case anyone use this to assume I have an interesting youth, I'd like to say I learned this from David Letterman's show many years ago.

[+bittsen]

Many years ago I learned the word SWAG to mean 'Stuff We All Get' in reference to the bag of promo items we would receive at conventions. The miscellaneous items were usually not too valuable but we were happy to receive them.

 

I imagine the word SWAG really means something else but in my mind it's still little items of miscellaneous distinction.

 

For the OP.

 

You may want to learn the acronyms but when posting logs on cache pages, the less acronyms the better the logs.

[+The VanDucks]

Here are some other useful terms and abbreviations:

 

CO: Cache owner, the person or team who placed and maintains the cache.

 

Muggles: non-geocachers; the people standing around in your way when you go geocaching in urban areas; you don't want the muggles to see you finding or replacing the cache!

 

GZ: Ground Zero, the exact location where the cache is hidden.

 

LPC, or LPS: Light (or Lamp) Post Cache, or Light Post Skirt, a popular hiding location for many easy caches but disliked by many experienced cachers! (But the FIRST time we found one, we were amazed!)

 

FTF: First To Find: the first cacher to find a new cache gets to log FTF; this can get pretty competitive! 2TF; the second to find, is also sometimes seen.

 

CITO: Cache In, Trash out: the location of the cache may be one that contains old trash and the owner is asking cachers to bring a bag and take some trash out to throw away; cachers try to do this to help keep our playing field clean!

 

It's also good to know the names of various cache containers so you have an idea of what you're looking for:

 

Nano: a very small metal container, holding only a log; often magnetic.

 

Bison: a metal container a bit larger than the nano, usually with a ring attached, with more possible hiding methods; contains only a log.

 

Decon box: a plastic box with a snap-on lid and a hook to hang it by.

 

Lock and lock: a plastic box with a snap-on lid; watertight and very durable; can be painted to match the surroundings.

 

Ammo box: the premium large cache container; durable metal, usually watertight, but we have found some that leaked; can be purchased at hunting supply stores.

 

As with most popular hobbies, you'll soon come to have a wide volcabulary of geocaching terms!

Edited March 22, 2010 by The VanDucks

[+edscott]

EDIT: That page I linked to just proved me wrong - apparently SWAG means "Stuff We All Get", which does include trade items.

FWIW, Wikipedia says that "swag" is a backronym - the word came first, then the acronym is made up.

 

According to the same wikipedia entry, swag is slang term for cocaine. Not sure how popular that is, but if approached by a police officer while geocaching, and asked what you have in your bag, don't say "oh, just swag"

 

Incidentally, "schwag" refers to low grade marijuana - another reason not to use "swag" in the presence of law enforcement. In case anyone use this to assume I have an interesting youth, I'd like to say I learned this from David Letterman's show many years ago.

 

For those that NEED to know.

 

swag |swag|

noun

1 an ornamental festoon of flowers, fruit, and greenery : ribbon-tied swags of flowers.

• a carved or painted representation of such a festoon : fine plaster swags.

• a curtain or piece of fabric fastened so as to hang in a drooping curve.

2 informal money or goods taken by a thief or burglar : garden machinery is the most popular swag.

• informal a large number, amount, or variety : a swag of events including fleece competitions, poultry and water fowl competitions, and a tractor pull.

3 Austral./NZ a traveler's or miner's bundle of personal belongings.

verb ( swagged , swagging ) [ trans. ]

1 arrange in or decorate with a swag or swags of fabric : swag the fabric gracefully over the curtain tie-backs | [as adj. ] ( swagged) the swagged contours of nomads' tents.

2 Austral./NZ travel with one's personal belongings in a bundle : swagging it in Queensland | swagging my way up to the Northern Territory.

3 [ intrans. ] chiefly poetic/literary hang heavily : the crinkly old hide swags here and there.

• sway from side to side : the stout chief sat swagging from one side of the carriage to the other.

ORIGIN Middle English (in the sense [bulging bag] ): probably of Scandinavian origin. The original sense of the verb (early 16th cent.) was [cause to sway or sag.]

[+StarBrand]

Try this site as well: http://geolex.locusprime.net/

[GPS-Hermit]

BYOP - Bring Your Own Pen - micros are too small to store a pen - so ya bring one with you! Learn to write very small and clearly!

Edited March 22, 2010 by GPS-Hermit

[+bittsen]

I would like to take this opportunity to also mention that new cachers should learn of basic TOTT (Tools Of The Trade) that include a pen. ALWAYS carry a pen because there are some absent minded cachers who will accidentally walk away with the pen from larger caches. I, myself, am guilty of doing this a couple of times.

 

The more you cache, the more TOTT you will want to carry.

[+California66er]

EDIT: That page I linked to just proved me wrong - apparently SWAG means "Stuff We All Get", which does include trade items.

FWIW, Wikipedia says that "swag" is a backronym - the word came first, then the acronym is made up.

 

According to the same wikipedia entry, swag is slang term for cocaine. Not sure how popular that is, but if approached by a police officer while geocaching, and asked what you have in your bag, don't say "oh, just swag"

 

Incidentally, "schwag" refers to low grade marijuana - another reason not to use "swag" in the presence of law enforcement. In case anyone use this to assume I have an interesting youth, I'd like to say I learned this from David Letterman's show many years ago.

 

Same as me, from Manny the Hippie! I was in Ohio when a big stink came out that he was getting arrested or fined or some such other nonsense for altering the stickers on his license plate. Not sure whatever became of that, but it seemed to be the end of Manny the Hippie on Letterman.

 

Which was totally schwag.

[+Taoiseach]

I would like to take this opportunity to also mention that new cachers should learn of basic TOTT (Tools Of The Trade) that include a pen. ALWAYS carry a pen because there are some absent minded cachers who will accidentally walk away with the pen from larger caches. I, myself, am guilty of doing this a couple of times.

 

The more you cache, the more TOTT you will want to carry.

 

... And when you're putting the pen back into the container, DO NOT put it in the plastic bag that holds the log!