The Fid Glossary – Chris Edwards

The Fid Glossary – Chris Edwards

& Multiple Other Fids

“WikiFid”

Banana Belt: Signy (South Orkney Islands) and South Georgia bases

Bimble: Travel, relatively slowly, perhaps with no well-defined destination, perhaps by Skidoo

Bitter and Twisted – a FID in a mood who is best avoided

Blackhand Gang: The Tractor and Generator Mechanic contingent on any Base

Bleg: A spot, an unwanted blemish (particularly on slides – see ‘Slides’)

Blow: A strong wind (see also ‘Hooley’)

Bog Chisel: Crevasse probe – ash pole circa 5 feet long with a metal chisel end

Bog Roll: Toilet paper, often HM Government issue

Boot : Fed up, down in the dumps, being in a bad mood

Brew-up: Making Tea

Bronzing: Sunbathing on days without wind

Chewer: A dog that chewed rope centre and side traces

Chippy: A Hallowed individual who could fix whatever you broke (quietly for variable tariffs of acceptable currency) 

Chomp: To chew through rope’s centre or side traces (usually past tense, ‘chomped’) by a ‘Chewer’

Ching: A “Dear John” communication

Ching Club: Membership requiring only to have received a ‘Ching’

Clatch: Just ‘stuff’, usually in excess, of anything (especially when sledging)

ConnyOnny: Cans of Condensed Sweetened Milk, proper name: Dulce de Leche and typically found at, and consumed at, abandoned Argentine bases

Crabs: Usually caught in seaports, typically Montevideo (see ‘Monte’)

Crud: A common name for Common Colds, usually brought to bases by ships and Fidlets

Dead man: A piece of plywood buried in snow to secure sledge, or night span, of sledge dogs

Deep Six: (As in Ogg) – to give up or discard something; or burying the evidence

Dingle: Sunny, blue sky (as in “Baby Blue and Dingle”)   

DON 8 – insulated signal wire used in conjunction with an 18 Set (ex WW 2 precursor of the Squadcal)

Dongle: A short rope with two loops, used to attach a driver to a dog sledge at one end, and a Krab on a dog driver’s waist belt at the other.

Donkey’s Dick and/or Donkey’s Dongle: A rubber tube at the top of the pyramid tent through which the Squadcal antenna was passed (and Carbon Monoxide!)

Doo: See Skidoo

Eliason (aka Elsan): See Skidoo (one version)

Fid:  Employee of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (later called BAS, but the name stuck – apparently not very current in the 21st century)

Fidlet: A name usually applied to new Fids heading South from the UK for the first time

Fid Mod: A modification using whatever materials are available on base/in the field, sometimes outrageous!

Fortport: Bi-weekly report to HQ (London/Cambridge/Stanley) primarily with sledges activity and other important stuff (at least, important to HQ) (not to be confused with QTH Report)

Furkle: To mess around with something, often with little idea as to what was needed.

Foxtrac: See ‘Skidoo’ (another version)

Gash: Rubbish, or ‘on gash’ – the kitchen skivvie, chefs assistant

Geriatrofid: A Fid approaching sell-by date

Gomble and De-gomble:    On dogs, a gomble is the ball of snow/ice which forms on dogs legs/paws (particularly)

Gonk, Gonking: To sleep, sleeping

Goodies:    Cake (at smoko) or any goods (usually food) gratefully received, expected or unexpected; or anything you don’t have but currently need, even crave for

Gremlins:  Things that cause other things not to work – usually at the most inconvenient moments. e.g vehicles, scientific equipment, accidents, weather, etc. See Fossil Bluff, 1970.

Grips: Photographs, slides

Greenlanders: Standard Fids-issue soft-leather workboots, strong and comfortable in warmer weather

Honey Bucket: Chemical Toilet vessel, used to transport cargo to the coast and feed the marine life, so protecting and feeding the environment (see also Sweetie Bucket), or: The inevitably an empty Ciment Fondu tub if there had been any construction on base. It was the right size, and more importantly, had a handle

Hooley: A very strong wind, stronger than a blow

Inside Man: When sledging, the Fid who scrambles inside the tent as soon as pitched, to set up the beds and kitchen, do a ‘Brew Up’ and start making some ‘Scradge’ (see also Outside Man – on rotation with

Jesus birds – Wilson’s Petrels, or Willies, which appear to be walking on water when flying close to the surface

Jolly: A vacation or day trip, can also be used derisively (jolly merchant) for someone who always manages to wangle a particular trip (see also Summer Jolliers)

King Fid: Typically a returning (aka experienced) Fid on a BAS Ship, charged with managing Fid supernumaries, mostly ‘Fidlets’, on the voyage South from UK, to South America, the Falkland Islands and finally BAS bases

Komatik: A type of sledge used by the Eskimo and used in early exploration, some lying around and used for ‘Seal Feed’ on BAS Bases

KuraHound: A manual on how to deal with various doggy medical events

KuraFid: A manual on how to deal with various Fids medical events

Krab: A carabiner

Leccy: Base Electrician

Lie-up: A forced vacation when sledging due to ‘Blows’ and ‘Hooleys’

Long Johns: Early ventilated ‘thermal’ underpants (see also Shreddies); not the most comfortable, sometimes used in an attempt to prevent bitches on heat getting pregnant when sledging 

Lurker: An unexpected item (crevasse, birthday card, Ching etc)

Lurky: A dog that was difficult to befriend, and often loose for days if allowed to roam

Manfood: Sledging Rations in 10-day quantities, each exactly the same as the last (see Goodies)

Mank: Low cloud aka fog (Manky, Manking in)

Meat Bar: One freeze-dried meat bar per day per Fid in Sledging Rations (see ‘Manfood) – initially all beef, later chicken and curry

Monte: Montivedeo, Uruguay, a typical first port-of-call

Marmite: A piddly little jar of concentrated yeast extract, a byproduct from brewing beer, one per Manfood (see ‘Goodies’ and ‘Manfood’)

Moose Milk – A warming drink of rum, condensed milk and hot water

Mountie Pie – a recipe involving tinned “Hafnia” bacon and rice – See Recipe HERE (in case a Fid’s wife would like to cook it up for old time’s sake….)

Mukluks: Standard Fids-issue footwear when sledging – Eskimo-style cold weather boots made of canvas with rubber soles, although it is believed these were ex-military from the Korean War

Nansen: A type of sledge general used for Fid dog teams (named after Fridjtof Nansen, an early explorer in Greenland)

N Boot: Very boot (see ‘Boot’, and Note 2 below)

Nutty: Standard Fid-issue dog food (Nutrican)

Ogg: The sea (also Oggin)

Onitsuka: Alternative boot to ‘Mukluk’, tried out by BAS to replace depleting mukluk availability; not popular with dog sledgers except for around Base, later adopted by some ‘Doo’ field parties

Outside Man: When sledging, the Fid who stays outside when stopping to camp, to add weight to tent valence, dig snow blocks and store between inner and outer tents, secure all loose items, tighten guys, check on dogs, generally tidy up. On daily rotation – see ‘Inside Man”

Paddys: Sheathbills (see Note 3)

Pee Can: An empty Chicken can used to pee in a tent – See Note 1 below

Pit: A place to sleep (bedroom, tent, sofa), also “going to my…”

Pubes: A hairy Bleg (see ‘Bleg’) of doubtful origin on slides and negatives

Quim: A husky bitch’s vagina

QTH Report: Twice weekly report back to Base from sledge parties, with position/location; and from aircraft during flying season

RBLT: Standard Fids-issue work boots (Rubber Bottom, Leather Top) used in wet and slushy conditions

Red Daisy: Butter in tins, both on base and in sledging rations

Scradge: Base Food served up by the Scradge Mechanic of the day

Scradge Mechanic: The Chef de Jour

Scrub-out: A cleaning regime at Bases, typically Saturday morning, often preceding an early Saturday Night, which messed the whole place up again

Sealies – sealskin mukluks which have been tanned in Inuit women’s urine: usually very smelly and too small for Fids’ plates of meat

Seal Chop: Chopping up dead seal for dog food

Seal Feed: Fun exercise, especially for new dog team drivers, using their team to feed the lumps of frozen seal (see ‘Seal Chop’) for up to or more than 100 frenzied dogs, all at the same time. (Sometimes encouraged cheating by using ‘Doos’ instead of dogs)

Shreddies: Y-front underpants worn under ‘Longjohns’, sometimes adorned with ‘Skid Marks’

Sked: A pre-arranged radio schedule, typically to talk to base, other field sledges, ships and aircraft

Skid Marks: A phenomena associated with ‘Shreddies’ (All) due to rapid responses to calls of nature during a Blow or Hooley; or after long lie-ups, causing failure to arrive at a depot in time to get more bog roll.

Skidoo: Mechanical dog, a term covering most mechanical vehicles tried out by BAS from time to time

Slides: 35mm transparencies which were sold on ships and in Stanley in two typical varietes – Kodachrome (could only be developed by Kodak, but up to two years after the event); and Ektachrome, developing of which could be done on base for instant gratification, using kits also sold on ships and in Port Stanley. Base water (from snowblocks) was also necessary (see also ‘Blegs” and ‘Pubes’)

Smoko:  Royal Navy slang for a “Brew up” with “Goodies”

Snotsicle: An icicle of frozen snot

South: Antarctica (Been South, going South)

Sparks: See WOM’s and Leccy’s

Splode: To describe food that really was beyond definition (or belief). Example: Chocolate splode – some sort of chocolate pudding or delight, but not like anything you have ever seen or tasted, for a variety of reasons

Sponned: Disrupted plans or aims, or broken

Squadcal: A radio type, made by Racal, commonly used in field trips after the mid-1960’s

Squaddie (1): A Squadcal Radio

Squaddie (2): A currently Army or ex-Army Fid

Stanley Greyhound: Mutton carcasses from the Falkland Islands (see ‘Goodies’) 

Summer Jolliers: Typically personnel visiting Bases from BAS HQ, or Fids arriving in the Spring and leaving at the end of Summer, not wintering

Sweetie Bucket: Chemical toilet container (see also ‘Honey Bucket’)

Thrutch: Exceedingly Hard, energetic work, travelling etc.

Thumper: A short length of thick, plaited rope for thumping recalcitrant dogs

Trondheim: A smaller type of sledge typically used in Norway, and by Fids on jollies (See ‘Jolly’)

Turdicle: End product of Nature’s Call when sledging in very cold conditions

Vapour Barriers – a type of rubber footwear with an air-insulated sole

Widger: A husky dog’s penis

Willies – see “Jesus birds”

Witter: Inconsequential chatter (mainly on the Squaddie)

WOM/WOP: Base Radio Operator

More Anybody??

Notes: 

Note 1 – Dave Singleton: From memory our ‘pee cans’ in 1972/3 (Stonington) were empty chicken tins. The chicken was very much a treat for base. The cans had a number of stamped rings up the side. Often tent conversations when we were partying in the field would degenerate into Fids bragging about whether their pee was a 3 or 4 ringer! Those were the days!

Note 2 – Les Sturgeon: I remember the Greenlander boot mounted on a wooden plaque at Adelaide with a large N painted on the toe. I presume this was presented to a FID who had had a bad day

Note 3 – Paddy: The snowy sheathbill (Chionis albus), also known as the Greater Sheathbill, Pale-faced sheathbill, Shitchicken and Paddy, is one of two species of sheathbill. It is usually found on the ground. It is the only land bird native to the Antarctic continent.

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The below suggestions were supplied by Ric Airey, and are pending comment and agreement that these should be part of the Marguerite Bay Fids Glossary:

• Beastie ( Machine and Man) ionospheric
• Banana Sledge
• Capt Oates Mission (going out to do something necessary in inclement weather)
• Mother Superior (Certain Authoritative Base Commander’s style)
• Fort Lego  (Cambridge HQ)
• Potting Shed (Portishead Radio) 
• Munch (Meat bar replacement lamb, beef, curry)
• Simbal /Huntleys (Sought after sledge biscuits in old depots)
• Ababy Bible: (Old Naval five  encoding/ decode book)
• Cadbury’s Milk Tray (as in calm and Lucid)
• Going Bourneville  (as in Dark and Bonkers)
• Biggles and GingerBeers ( pilots and aircraft engineers)
• Mahogany Bomber (any desk with three trays)  – In Tray, Out Tray, And Too Difficult Tray) 
• Tennants and Bass Saga (A seriously improved story which occurs to us over the magic of time and comfort:) 
• Juju beans (black vitamin c tablets) 
• Blue Flimsy (old pre-paid stamp airmail letters)