Where Did It Come From?

[+CompuCash]

How did the term - muggle - come to be used here with geocaching? And how does it relate? I understand it came from the 'Airy Potah' books but I'd like to know the history.

 

[+Team DEMP]

Muggle in HP is "not one of them". A human, not a wizard. So non-geocachers came to be known as muggles.

[+CO Admin]

How did the term - muggle - come to be used here with geocaching?  And how does it relate?  I understand it came from the 'Airy Potah'  books but I'd like to know the history.

 

Ummm one day someone used it and it stuck.

I know a boring story but true.

 

forum search, first use of term.

Edited September 2, 2004 by CO Admin

[+Markwell]

Flower it up a little.

 

In Harry Potter, the muggles are those poor unsuspecting folks who are oblivious to the wonderfully magical things that are happening around them. They go through their mundane lives without a clue that there's a whole other magical world just out of reach, if they'd keep their eyes open.

 

Take out the "In Harry Potter" preface and put that last paragraph into Geocaching context, and it makes what we do here sound so much cooler.

[+CompuCash]

Flower it up a little.

 

In Harry Potter, the muggles are those poor unsuspecting folks who are oblivious to the wonderfully magical things that are happening around them. They go through their mundane lives without a clue that there's a whole other magical world just out of reach, if they'd keep their eyes open.

 

Take out the "In Harry Potter" preface and put that last paragraph into Geocaching context, and it makes what we do here sound so much cooler.

you sound like you must have read the books -

 

I like your interpretation - and it is cool -

 

and now I can say "I've been Markwelled!" ha!

 

Thanks

[+CompuCash]

How did the term - muggle - come to be used here with geocaching?  And how does it relate?  I understand it came from the 'Airy Potah'  books but I'd like to know the history.

 

Ummm one day someone used it and it stuck.

I know a boring story but true.

 

forum search, first use of term.

thanks CoAd but I gotta say you been 'upped' by Markwell -

[+flask]

it's an idiotic use of the term and is the scourge of geocaching. THIS INANE PRACTICE MUST STOP!

 

i cringe with embarrassment every time an otherwise sensible adult uses it. i mean, i guess it's fine for all you people who have fuzzy puppy posters all over your house and lots of little ceramic figurines of angels holding hearts and roses, but the rest of you should stop it at once.

[+CrimsonWrath]

I believe the word "muggle" was around before Harry Potter or Geocaching existed. It is nothing more than two separate entities making use of the English language.

[+geo-jedi]

Dictionary.com suggests that this is indeed a new term. See below.

 

1 entry found for muggle.

 

Main Entry: muggle

Function: noun

Definition: a person with no magical abilities

Etymology: Used in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of books

 

Source: Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English, © 2003 Lexico Publishing Group, LLC

 

Team Geo-Jedi

 

p.s. we have no posters of puppies but the whole family loves using the term, especially when we do urban caches.

[+wimseyguy]

it's an idiotic use of the term and is the scourge of geocaching. THIS INANE PRACTICE MUST STOP!

 

i cringe with embarrassment every time an otherwise sensible adult uses it. i mean, i guess it's fine for all you people who have fuzzy puppy posters all over your house and lots of little ceramic figurines of angels holding hearts and roses, but the rest of you should stop it at once.

I believe that most of those cute figurines are Made In Vermont.

PS I love the positive spin Markwell puts on everything, instead of just "use the search function".

[+flask]

I believe that most of those cute figurines are Made In Vermont.

oh, no, they're NOT. we make stuff outta wood and pine tar. if it ain't from a tree or a cow, it ain't from here.

[+Divine]

i guess it's fine for all you people who have fuzzy puppy posters all over your house and lots of little ceramic figurines of angels holding hearts and roses, but the rest of you should stop it at once.

Does this mean I have to get rif of my HR Giger and Clockwork Orange posters and my Alien figurines and dead animals then?

[+Divine]

I believe the word "muggle" was around before Harry Potter or Geocaching existed.

Yeah, and Harry is really a potter. See: muggle.

[+Cherokeecacher]

I believe that most of those cute figurines are Made In Vermont.

oh, no, they're NOT. we make stuff outta wood and pine tar. if it ain't from a tree or a cow, it ain't from here.

Then were are these from?

 

Thanks for the "history lesson" on the term as it applies to caching.

[+Cherokeecacher]

I believe the word "muggle" was around before Harry Potter or Geocaching existed.

Yeah, and Harry is really a potter. See: muggle.

#2 is interesting.

 

so is #3

[ju66l3r]

I would suggest that it's actually a poor usage of the term. In Harry Potter (where the word originates from), the muggles have no option. They simply do not have magical blood and therefore do not see magic and can not perform magic. They never will.

 

In geocaching, this is not the case. A "muggle" can easily become interested in the sport and join the "magic". Happens every day.

 

Therefore, I suggest the term:

 

Unwashed. They are the unwashed masses and maybe one day they will become cleansed by the light of geocaching.

 

See, that's so wrong that it's not funny. I think this is the extreme objection that flask has to the term.

 

Therefore, in all sincerity, I suggest the term:

 

Geolays. Taken from geocaching and layperson.

 

Ok, so it still wasn't totally sincere.

[+Robespierre]

Despite all the griping, "muggle" is the perfect term. One day one the trail BugNV used it in conversation. I instantly understood, and we didn't even need to discuss it. It just fits. Of course, it helps if you read the books (for her fifth book, I would use the term "literature." The other four were fun books.)

[+Renegade Knight]

...Therefore, in all sincerity, I suggest the term:

 

Geolays.  Taken from geocaching and layperson...

Thats what you do with your significant other to celebrate finding the cache. Of course for some that too is about the numbers. That's why you add the s on the end.

Edited September 2, 2004 by Renegade Knight

[+flask]

Then were are these from?

 

we make 'em outta trees. trees and cattle by-products.

 

Does this mean I have to get rif of my HR Giger and Clockwork Orange posters and my Alien figurines and dead animals then?

 

no, they're just fine. so is your model of the transverse colon.

 

Despite all the griping, "muggle" is the perfect term.

 

no, it's not. it's silly and those who insist on using it are the scourge of the universe. people completely understand a lot of other dopey idiot-fodder, but that doesn't make it right.

 

Therefore, in all sincerity, I suggest the term:

 

Geolays. Taken from geocaching and layperson.

 

i kind of like this one. it yields yet another useful convention: when you need to warn others in your party to be subtle, you can holler "geo-lay-hee-hoooo".

 

Thats what you do with your significant other to celebrate finding the cache.

 

can you SAY that here?

[+sept1c_tank]

I believe the word "muggle" was around before Harry Potter or Geocaching existed.

Yeah, and Harry is really a potter. See: muggle.

In the early 30s and 40s, muggle was a common slang expression among jazz musicians. If you could ask some of those oldtimers, I'm sure they would discuss the magical qualities associated with the lesser known definition of the word.

 

Actually, I like the term and most modern day folk I have encountered, when they inquire about the word used in connection with geocaching, seem to enjoy it too.

[+carleenp]

it's an idiotic use of the term and is the scourge of geocaching. THIS INANE PRACTICE MUST STOP!

 

i cringe with embarrassment every time an otherwise sensible adult uses it. i mean, i guess it's fine for all you people who have fuzzy puppy posters all over your house and lots of little ceramic figurines of angels holding hearts and roses, but the rest of you should stop it at once.

Whew, for a minute there I was worried I was going to have to quit using the term, but since I am willing to decorate my house in fuzzy animal posters, maybe I am OK?

 

In all seriousness though, it is fine if some don't like the term, but I fully intend to continue to use it without debating whether it is a good or bad word, if there is a better word, if it is used appropriately etc. Basically I like it and because I like it, I will use it. Others can chose not to use it or even ignore me when I use it etc. But I won't stop using a term I like simply because someone who dislikes it orders that it be that way.

[+flask]

i'm not ordering anything. if you choose to be an embarrassment to all life forms on this planet, you have that right.

 

you also have the right to wear stripes with plaids and with your tinfoil hat and stand on streetcorners muttering quietly to yourself in a language not known to any group on the planet.

 

if you want to come dressed as a pork chop to a bar mitzvah, it's your call.

 

if you actually DO decorate your house with fuzzy puppy posters and angel figurines, i will not be surprised if you continue to misuse the term "muggle". i rather expect this of that sort of person, but then i also expect those sorts of people to, well, ...

 

...i've run out of vitriol for now.

 

rest assured that i will at some point continue my campaign on this critical topic.

 

and thank you for reviving this debate. i have waited many weeks for the opportunity to continue my good works assisting the thinking impaired.

[+carleenp]

Oh good, I misunderstood then. I will enjoy my continued use of the term without any misgivings now!

[+sept1c_tank]

...and thank you for reviving this debate. i have waited many weeks for the opportunity to continue my good works assisting the thinking impaired.

What's to debate?

 

you aint never gone make people talk right

[+briansnat]

I never liked the term "muggle" from day one, but its become so widely accepted that I find myself using it.

 

My preference is CLAMS, or Cache illiterate & unAware Members of Society. Unfortunately that never caught on.

Edited September 2, 2004 by briansnat

[+flask]

clams it is, then. now i have a term i can use. whew. it was an uphill stuggle against the dregs of the gene pool.

[+The Jester]

i'm not ordering anything. if you choose ...

 

you also have the right to ...

 

if you want to ...

 

if you actually ...

 

...i've run out of vitriol for now.

 

rest assured that i will at some point continue my campaign on this critical topic.

 

and thank you for reviving this debate. i have waited many weeks for the opportunity to continue my good works assisting the thinking impaired.

I've noticed that intolerant people expect us to be tolerant of their vitriol-fill insults while they spend many dozen words to say "I don't like it" without giving real reasons why.

 

I'm with Carleen: "I will enjoy my continued use of the term without any misgivings now!"

[+flask]

i'm not asking you to be tolerant at all.

 

go ahead and misuse the term "muggle". have a really good time doing it. we'll be over there, pointing and laughing.

 

honestly, if it weren't for you people, what would i have to feel smug about?

[Texasbagman]

Oh thank goodness. Someone came up with a term I can use without feeling like an idiot.

 

CLAMS.

 

Thanks.

[+Team DEMP]

Ok... we walk around with these GPS devices in the woods looking for containers under rocks, in trees, etc and you think the word MUGGLE is gonna make someone point and laugh. Get some perspective!

[+PNWWizard]

Ok... we walk around with these GPS devices in the woods looking for containers under rocks, in trees, etc and you think the word MUGGLE is gonna make someone point and laugh. Get some perspective!

 

"I use multi-billion dollar military satellites to find Tupperware in the woods. What do you do?"

 

So term what did cachers use pre-Potter?

[+carleenp]

i'm not asking you to be tolerant at all.

 

go ahead and misuse the term "muggle". have a really good time doing it. we'll be over there, pointing and laughing.

 

honestly, if it weren't for you people, what would i have to feel smug about?

I initially was going to post that OK, to each his or her own, and I suppose perhaps that will lead me to feel "smug" when I use the term with the knowledge that it bothers a person enough to make them pointedly seek to degrade a person that chooses to use the term "muggle."

 

Then I looked up "smug."

 

My dictionary (Websters Third New International Unabridged) defines "smug" in the sense I interpret you as using it as: "Marked by or suggestive of belief in one's own superiority, virtue, and respectability usu. accompanied by contented resistence to change, provincial lack of vision, or deprecation of others."

 

I decided that I would hate to use the term of feeling "smug" about a person. That is not my style. I don't mind that anyone hates the term "muggle" so I would not seek to pointedly degrade them for that. So I intend to continue to fully use the word "muggle", with the knowledge that some don't like it and that they might even be "smug" about it, but I will not feel "smug" when I use the term "muggle." I will simply use it as I always have. If others feel "smug" in their dislike, that is their choice and OK with me since I find such a reaction to be uneffective because it does not change my choice to use the word. Basically, I don't care if others feel "smug." The only effect it has on me is in my choices of how I enter into dialog with people, if I enter into dialog at all.

 

Please keep in mind that I am staying out of the debate on the correctness of the word "muggle" etc. I have opinions on that, some that would even agree that it is not a correct use, but I basically don't care to debate that stuff since I have decided that I will happily continue use of the term. If debating the issue or feeling or acting "smug" changes other's perceptions, well that is OK too. It just doesn't affect my use of the term.

Edited September 3, 2004 by carleenp

[+briansnat]

Ok... we walk around with these GPS devices in the woods looking for containers under rocks, in trees, etc and you think the word MUGGLE is gonna make someone point and laugh. Get some perspective!

 

"I use multi-billion dollar military satellites to find Tupperware in the woods. What do you do?"

 

So term what did cachers use pre-Potter?

I think Harvey Potter came before geocaching.

[+CrimsonWrath]

i'm not asking you to be tolerant at all.

 

go ahead and misuse the term "muggle". have a really good time doing it. we'll be over there, pointing and laughing.

 

honestly, if it weren't for you people, what would i have to feel smug about?

I initially was going to post that OK, to each his or her own, and I suppose perhaps that will lead me to feel "smug" when I use the term with the knowledge that it bothers a person enough to make them pointedly seek to degrade a person that chooses to use the term "muggle."

 

Then I looked up "smug."

 

My dictionary (Websters Third New International Unabridged) defines "smug" in the sense I interpret you as using it as: "Marked by or suggestive of belief in one's own superiority, virtue, and respectability usu. accompanied by contented resistence to change, provincial lack of vision, or deprecation of others."

 

I decided that I would hate to use the term of feeling "smug" about a person. That is not my style. I don't mind that anyone hates the term "muggle" so I would not seek to pointedly degrade them for that. So I intend to continue to fully use the word "muggle", with the knowledge that some don't like it and that they might even be "smug" about it, but I will not feel "smug" when I use the term "muggle." I will simply use it as I always have. If others feel "smug" in their dislike, that is their choice and OK with me since I find such a reaction to be uneffective because it does not change my choice to use the word. Basically, I don't care if others feel "smug." The only affect it has on me is in my choices of how I enter into dialog with people, if I enter into dialog at all.

 

Please keep in mind that I am staying out of the debate on the correctness of the word "muggle" etc. I have opinions on that, some that would even agree that it is not a correct use, but I basically don't care to debate that stuff since I have decided that I will happily continue use of the term. If debating the issue or feeling or acting "smug" changes other's perceptions, well that is OK too. It just doesn't affect my use of the term.

[+Mopar]

i'm not ordering anything. if you choose to be an embarrassment to all life forms on this planet, you have that right.

 

you also have the right to wear stripes with plaids and with your tinfoil hat and stand on streetcorners muttering quietly to yourself in a language not known to any group on the planet.

 

if you want to come dressed as a pork chop to a bar mitzvah, it's your call.

 

if you actually DO decorate your house with fuzzy puppy posters and angel figurines, i will not be surprised if you continue to misuse the term "muggle". i rather expect this of that sort of person, but then i also expect those sorts of people to, well, ...

 

...i've run out of vitriol for now.

 

rest assured that i will at some point continue my campaign on this critical topic.

 

and thank you for reviving this debate. i have waited many weeks for the opportunity to continue my good works assisting the thinking impaired.

I hear puppy monster likes porkchops.

[+Renegade Knight]

Now the term Smuggles is stuck in my head...

 

Maybe for all those people who don't like the term muggle.

Edited September 3, 2004 by Renegade Knight

[+TotemLake]

it's an idiotic use of the term and is the scourge of geocaching. THIS INANE PRACTICE MUST STOP!

 

i cringe with embarrassment every time an otherwise sensible adult uses it. i mean, i guess it's fine for all you people who have fuzzy puppy posters all over your house and lots of little ceramic figurines of angels holding hearts and roses, but the rest of you should stop it at once.

[+mtn-man]

i'm not asking you to be tolerant at all.

 

go ahead and misuse the term "muggle". have a really good time doing it. we'll be over there, pointing and laughing.

 

honestly, if it weren't for you people, what would i have to feel smug about?

Based on you attitude in this topic, I would imagine you are probably pretty lonely over there as you point and laugh at the rest of the world.

 

 

Well, except for the guys coming to see you with that special white jacket that is fitted especially for you.

 

(Pssst... Harry Potter doesn't really exist. When you come back to reality we will be here waiting for you.)

[+Cherokeecacher]

How did the term - muggle - come to be used here with geocaching? And how does it relate? I understand it came from the 'Airy Potah' books but I'd like to know the history.

 

Wow, even the mods are not trying to keep things on topic any more.

 

The OP did not ask what people thought about the use of the term.

 

Name calling is also a direct violation of the forum rules and regulations section on RESPECT.

[+CompuCash]

How did the term - muggle - come to be used here with geocaching?  And how does it relate?  I understand it came from the 'Airy Potah'  books but I'd like to know the history.

 

Wow, even the mods are not trying to keep things on topic any more.

 

The OP did not ask what people thought about the use of the term.

 

Name calling is also a direct violation of the forum rules and regulations section on RESPECT.

THANK YOU!

[+cache_us_if_you_can]

i'm not asking you to be tolerant at all.

 

go ahead and misuse the term "muggle". have a really good time doing it. we'll be over there, pointing and laughing.

 

honestly, if it weren't for you people, what would i have to feel smug about?

I initially was going to post that OK, to each his or her own, and I suppose perhaps that will lead me to feel "smug" when I use the term with the knowledge that it bothers a person enough to make them pointedly seek to degrade a person that chooses to use the term "muggle."

 

Then I looked up "smug."

 

My dictionary (Websters Third New International Unabridged) defines "smug" in the sense I interpret you as using it as: "Marked by or suggestive of belief in one's own superiority, virtue, and respectability usu. accompanied by contented resistence to change, provincial lack of vision, or deprecation of others."

 

I decided that I would hate to use the term of feeling "smug" about a person. That is not my style. I don't mind that anyone hates the term "muggle" so I would not seek to pointedly degrade them for that. So I intend to continue to fully use the word "muggle", with the knowledge that some don't like it and that they might even be "smug" about it, but I will not feel "smug" when I use the term "muggle." I will simply use it as I always have. If others feel "smug" in their dislike, that is their choice and OK with me since I find such a reaction to be uneffective because it does not change my choice to use the word. Basically, I don't care if others feel "smug." The only effect it has on me is in my choices of how I enter into dialog with people, if I enter into dialog at all.

 

Please keep in mind that I am staying out of the debate on the correctness of the word "muggle" etc. I have opinions on that, some that would even agree that it is not a correct use, but I basically don't care to debate that stuff since I have decided that I will happily continue use of the term. If debating the issue or feeling or acting "smug" changes other's perceptions, well that is OK too. It just doesn't affect my use of the term.

Well said

[+cache_us_if_you_can]

How did the term - muggle - come to be used here with geocaching?  And how does it relate?  I understand it came from the 'Airy Potah'  books but I'd like to know the history.

 

Wow, even the mods are not trying to keep things on topic any more.

 

The OP did not ask what people thought about the use of the term.

 

Name calling is also a direct violation of the forum rules and regulations section on RESPECT.

Respect: Respect the guidelines for forum usage, and site usage. Respect Groundspeak, its employees, volunteers, yourself, fellow community members, and guests on these boards. Whether a community member has one post or 5,000 posts, they deserve the same respect.

[Cholo]

 

i cringe with embarrassment every time an otherwise sensible adult uses it. i mean,

I can almost feel your pain. The three most over used terms in today's English speaking world are "um", "you know", and "I mean". Listen to the media. These terms were used in the past, but have now become a major part of the common vocabulary. When I hear the big "three" in a sentence or some other verbal rambling I say, "Hat trick!". My wife is getting irritated at this. Can you, um, you know, I mean, blame her?

 

Before I get charged extra for being off topic, my take on muggle. I only see it used here, and know how it's used....no problem. In some circles, gentile was becoming fashionable to mean anyone who is not us. The true meaning is anyone not a Jew. I prefer muggle.

[+The Jester]

Oh thank goodness. Someone came up with a term I can use without feeling like an idiot.

 

CLAMS.

 

Thanks.

And speaking of shellfish miles from the shore, in the middle of the desert won't feel at all strange? While muggles point, whisper about you, and laugh?

 

====================

 

Thanks Carleen for a very nice statement.

 

====================

 

And as my forum title reflects, I am one of the very few who can call all of you "muggles" - i.e. non-magical, geocacher or not! Does that make me smug? Nope, it makes me a magician. Now if I can only find the right way to wave my magic wand and make this Genii go back in it's bottle, or should I say flask?

[+Robespierre]

One day the forums were getting quite dull,

so Flask stepped up to answer the call,

and yet the cachers did not understand

that vitriol oozed at his vast demand

from a well-spring of smiles down deep inside

as he trashed a term, geomuggle.

 

So he fussed and he fumed at any and all,

promulgating intolerance, clearing the hall

of all who had used or knew of the term,

stamping and stomping upon every worm

who dared to differ, and feeling quite smug,

as he trashed the term, geomuggle.

 

So up to the plate they stepped one by one,

even CarleenP came, and he had such fun,

as he winked to himself that he had succeeded

in centering all the attention he needed,

to play devil's advocate, saving the forums,

when he trashed the term, geomuggle.

 

Performing this service, he thought day and night

how might he continue with spreading this blight

'til "he doth protest too much" came to the fore

and cachers all realized he took up this chore

and they ceased aggravation as slowly it dawned

that he loved the term, geomuggle.

 

[+flask]

well, i still hate the term, but railing about it does give me a giggle that's hard to beat...

[+paintfiction]

well, i still hate the term, but railing about it does give me a giggle that's hard to beat...

I prefer the term civilians.

[BassoonPilot]

I get it. This is the new AS thread.

[Captain Chaoss]

you also have the right to wear stripes with plaids and with your tinfoil hat and stand on streetcorners muttering quietly to yourself in a language not known to any group on the planet.

 

hey, that works great for finding that well-hidden micro ! NOBODY asks what your doing.

[+CompuCash]

Boy! did I start something or what?