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Geocaching Terms and Lingo


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I have been looking around the various threads at the different terms that seem to be used exclusively by geocachers. I decided to post a list of these terms which would obviously benefit from the input of others. I am certain there are hundreds of other excellent terms that can be added to the list and probably many correction that can be made as well. Is there a word for someone who is extremely skilled at geocaching?

The List:

 

Blair Witching: When GPSr readings appear to 'flip' over a desired coordinate (usually near the cache site), preventing the seeker from locating a cache.

 

Booty Nuggets: The treasure found in the cache for trading (see also McToys, Geoswag).

 

Chromes: "Crow Miles" describing linear distance without regarding elevation or terrain.

 

Drive & Dump: A cache placed with little thought, usually very close to a road or parking lot.

 

Force (The Force): The ability to instinctively know where a cache is hidden when you get within a certain proximity. The term alludes to supernatural force used by specially gifted characters in Star Wars.

 

FTF: First to Find

 

Garminites: Those that favor the Garmin line of GPSr units

 

Geobasher: A person (usually a geomuggle) who derides geocachers or the act of geocaching.

 

Geocasher: A geocacher who leaves valuable items in a cache.

 

Geodashing: Another GPS Game involving visiting randomly generated waypoints

 

Geomuggle: A person that is unaware of the existence of geocaching. The term alludes to Harry Potter where "muggles" refers to non-wizard humans. (see also In-Laws)

 

Geosnatcher: A person who steals the contents of a geocache or the entire geocache itself (see also Plundered)

 

GPSr Food: Batteries

 

Hedwigged: E-mailed. The term alludes to Harry Potter's messenger owl, Hedwig.

 

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named: The gentleman who placed the first Geocache in May 2000. The term alludes to Harry Potter's evil nemesis, a powerful wizard who must not be named.

 

In-Laws: Unwanted geomuggles who remain at a cache location for extended periods of time, preventing discrete access to that cache.

 

Letterboxing: Another stash-and-find game that started in the U.K. over 100 years ago. It is similar to Geocaching, but without the use of GPS and coordinates.

 

Log and Dump: A cache carelessly replaced in its original location, often left unhidden

and vulnerable to plundering.

 

Loose Bearings: The point at which the direction on your GPSr no longer points in the correct direction, mostly because you've slowed down to a point that it doesn't know in which direction you're moving.

 

Maggies: Those that favor the Magellan line of GPS units

 

Markwell: To create a link to a previous, or related forum discussion of a topic.

 

McToys: Cheap, dirty, or broken toys of little monetary value left in caches for trade.

 

Microcache: Much smaller than a regular cache.

 

Minicache: Between the size of a microcache and a regular cache.

 

Minute War: Another GPS Game involving playing a "capture the flag" related game on a global scale

 

Neocacher: An inexperienced Geocacher (see also newbie)

 

Newbie: An inexperienced Geocacher (see also Neocacher)

 

Plasma Bandits: Mosquitos

 

Plundered: A cache which has had its contents stolen or the theft of the cache itself. (see also Geosnatcher)

 

Signature Item: A specific item used and/or created by a geocacher to show that they've visited a cache.

 

Smurfs 292: Meeting another geocacher in the woods. The term alludes to Smurfs episode #292 where the Smurfs encounter "Wild Smurf", a 150 year old loincloth-wearing Smurf who was lost as an infant and raised by squirrels.

 

Sock Puppet: A person posting under a different handle in order to appear to have more than one person supporting the stated position.

 

Swag: The treasure found in the cache for trading (see also McToys, Booty Nuggets)

 

TFTC: Thanks for the Cache

 

The "Other" Site: Navicache.com. In competition with Geocaching.com

 

The Degree Confluence Project: Another GPS based hobby involving visiting points where the latitude and longitude are integers (e.g. N 42° 00.000 W 088° 00.000)

 

TNLN: Took Nothing, Left Nothing

 

TNLNSL: Took Nothing, Left Nothing, Signed Logbook

 

TPTB: The Powers That Be (Jeremy Irish and Elias - those that control Geocaching.com)

 

Troll: A person who posts inflammatory remarks specifically to elicit heated replies.

 

YAPIDKA: Yet another park I didn't know about

 

A C atom noticed that an H ion was looking depressed, "Why do you look so sad?" he asked. "I lost an electron" replied the H ion. The C atom asked "Are you sure?" To which the H ion replied, "I'm positive."

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Help Center → Geocaching → Beginner's Basics → Terminology and Glossary

 

1.7. Terminology and Glossary

http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=50

 

Geocaching > Getting Started with Geocaching > Glossary of Terms

Glossary of Terms

http://www.geocaching.com/about/glossary.aspx

The Geocaching.com glossary is always changing. If you have suggestions for future additions, please contact us.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/about/glossary.aspx

 

GeoLex

The Lexicon of Geocaching

 

http://geolex.locusprime.net/

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Wow!! Did you create this list yourself? That's a lot of work! I haven't heard of a lot of these before. I like "blair witching", "hedwigged", "in-laws", and "plasma bandits" :laughing: Perhaps one should be created for "Dursleys" :laughing:

 

Cache Maggot?

I did a little search today for it and figured from what I read it's a person who get an account for the purpose of stealing caches. Sound right?

I had to do an emergency google for that one when I read it on another thread

Edited by diggingest_dogg616
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Post August 20,2003

Reply January 22,2012

Does this set the record for oldest thread bump ever?

 

I think it does.

 

Doh.

 

:yikes:

Criminey! I didn't notice that either! Well... I suppose it's far from my first time replying to really old threads that have been bumped (I've caught a few and stopped myself but I have a lot of room for improvement! :o )

 

I found pretty much the same definition for "cache maggot" that you did GeotaggedBloger. Someone that just vandalizes caches or steals them :(

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Interesting. A number of those terms have been superseded by different terms, but some of those are pretty good.

A few "blasts from the past":

Microcache and minicache: I assume this was before Micro became an official size, and before nanos came into common use.

Loose bearings: I guess this was before GPSrs came with 3-axis compasses. :laughing:

The "Other" Site: There are obviously many "other" sites now. I guess at that time there was really only one.

 

ETA: Oh, and I hate those "In-laws". I've had many unwanted encounters with "In-laws". :laughing:

Edited by The A-Team
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I googled a phrase I had recently seen in an article about geocaching 'Smurfs 292', I'd never heard of that, particularly in the context of its meaning - so google took me to this posting
Read through that list - are some of those still used ?
I have been caching 20 years and have only heard or used 10 in that list - I am from the UK and I am guessing this is very much an American list of phrases 

 

Oh! and a 12+ year bump - that beats the previous one :D

Edited by Deepdiggingmole
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10 minutes ago, Deepdiggingmole said:

I have been caching 20 years and have only heard or used 10 in that list - I am from the UK and I am guessing this is very much an American list of phrases 

I've lived in the USA my whole life and recognized only about half of the terms on that list.

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58 minutes ago, GeoElmo6000 said:

Funny that microcache and minicache are on there, "smaller than a regular cache"... did cache sizes not exist back then?

The original post was from 2003. That was before my time, but I recall hearing/reading that the "micro" size was created first, then the "small" size was created later to fill the gap between large "micro" and small "regular" caches.

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