"AA: "So initially they referred to this hole as a spider hole, and we're hearing now 'rat hole.' I think there was posting to the American Dialect Society list that had a news item from 1941 with a photo caption showing Marines, I believe, being taught to use spider holes. What is the difference between a spider hole and a rat hole? Because that's basically what the idea is. And that sort of makes sense, but exactly why it was called a spider as opposed to a covered foxhole or something like that, I don't know. This seems also to be a pretty new term. FITZPATRICK: "Oh, a rat hole is an old general civilian term. He's now a technical writer and editor in the computer industry. A spider hole differs from a typical foxhole in that a foxhole is usually deeper and designed to emphasize cover rather than concealment.

And I think it's just been applied to any kind of sordid refuge that a scoundrel or a rat hides in. The mission was executed by joint operations Task Force 121—an elite and covert joint special operations team, supported by the 1st Brigade Combat Team (led by Col. … Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, the commander of American forces in Iraq, used that term to describe what troops had found. RS: Sunday's news of the arrest of Saddam Hussein included some military lingo that has captured a lot of people's curiosity. And I'd known the term before. --"Spider hole" - a camouflaged hole in the ground often used by the U.S. military where a soldier can hide inside, but still observe and fire a weapon.

FITZPATRICK: "As soon as I heard the description, it matched up with 'spider hole,' that it was a hole in the ground for concealment that could be closed with some kind of concealing or camouflaged cover, the idea being that even if you were standing on it or next to it, you might not see that it was there, and yet the person inside could get out pretty quickly, because the cover was light and loosely fitted." That was completely new to me. I've seen it suggested that it's because there are certain kinds of spiders that build similar kinds of nests with a lid that the spider is able to pop out of and ambush prey. The soldier in the center bottom carries a rifle grenade. On Sunday, as he listened to the news, he's not sure which he heard first, the term itself or the description. And that sort of makes sense, but exactly why it was called a spider as opposed to a covered foxhole or something like that, I don't know. That was completely new to me. FITZPATRICK: "Right. AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster -- we look into "spider holes" and some other terms that have come out of the war in Iraq. During the war, Viet Cong guerrillas used such holes to snipe at American troops.

This seems also to be a pretty new term. 'Spider Hole' and Other Iraq War Terms; RepeatAfterUs.com * No MP3 * Vocabulary of Marriage * No MP3 * Thanks for the Grammar, Mom! It was between Iran and Iraq. "FITZPATRICK: "Right. On Sunday, as he listened to the news, he's not sure which he heard first, the term itself or the description. 102 years ago today, U.S. soldiers of the 28th Infantry Regiment from "The Big Red One" goes over the top to assault the town of Cantigny, France in America's first major offensive of World War I. It's an explosive device that has been manufactured in somebody's basement or somebody's garage rather than being manufactured specifically as an explosive, as a bomb. The Green Beret commandos' secret mission had taken them 150 miles inside Iraq, to spy on Saddam Hussein's Army. And you know, I didn't really know why, exactly why it was called a spider hole.

RS: "And in this case it was Styrofoam with a rug on top." The amateur linguist knew the term "spider hole" -- but not from the dozens of dictionaries he's collected at his home in Pennsylvania. With Rosanne Skirble, I'm Avi Arditti. And I'd known the term before. Our e-mail address is

"RS: "And in this case it was Styrofoam with a rug on top.

I think there was posting to the American Dialect Society list that had a news item from 1941 with a photo caption showing Marines, I believe, being taught to use spider holes.

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