Survival terminology dictionary

With the hopes of untangling the alphabet soup of acronyms and explaining the sometimes silly terminology of the survivalist's lingo, I have put together a dictionary of sorts.  It includes most of the common terminology used in modern survival articles.  If you have encountered a term not covered here, let me know and we can add it to the list.





BOB- Bug Out Bag, a 72 hour survival kit pre-packed and ready for an emergency evacuation.

BOL- Bug Out Location, a pre-planned, pre-stocked shelter that you evacuate to in an emergency.

BOV- Bug Out Vehicle, the transportation that will carry you to your BOL.

Crunch- general term for a major, long-term disaster.

Doomer- a Peak Oil believer.  See Peak Oil.

EDC- Every Day Carry, small tools and items carried daily on your person to assist in tasks or during emergencies.

EMP- Electromagnetic pulse, an extreme level of electromagnetic energy sufficient to burn out computer chips that may be caused by solar flares or by atmospheric nuclear explosions. Such an event would disable the Internet, telephones, computers, and devices that rely on computer controls, including automobiles, the electrical grid, and household appliances.

EOTW- End Of The World.

Fallout shelter- an enclosed space specially designed to protect residents from radioactive debris resulting from a nuclear explosion.  Many of these were constructed as civil defense structures during the Cold War.

FEMA- Federal Emergency Management Agency.  The outfit you are trying to avoid living with by prepping.

Golden Horde- large mixed group of refugees and looters that will pour out of metropolitan areas when the SHTF.  (see SHTF)

GOOD Kit- Get Out Of Dodge Kit, see Bug Out Bag.

Grid Down- a situation where the main electrical power transmission grid is not functioning.

Hyperinflation- very high and rapidly accelerating inflation that cripples a country's economy.  Typically gets applied to an economy when a monthly inflation rate exceeds 50%.

Impact Event- the collision of a large meteorite, asteroid or comet with the Earth.  There have been many impact events throughout Earth's history which seriously disrupted the environment and caused mass extinctions.

Larder- a cool area for storing food prior to use.  Larders were commonplace in houses prior to the widespread use of the refrigerator.

Malthusian Catastrophe- a forced return to subsistence-level conditions once population growth has outpaced agricultural production.

NBC- Nuclear, Biological and Chemical attacks.

Off the Grid- not being connected to the main electrical power transmission grid.

Pandemic- an epidemic of infectious disease that has spread throughout the globe.

Peak Oil- a crash in the economy arising from the supply of gasoline & diesel fuel being less than the demand for it.

Pollyanna- someone who is in denial about the disruption that might be caused by the advent of a large scale disaster.

Prepper- synonym for Survivalist.

Refugee- what you will become if you fail to prepare for an emergency.  Someone who lives in a FEMA camp.

Self-sufficient- what many Americans used to be.  What preppers strive to be.  What people who believe in FEMA will never be.

SHTF- when the Shit Hits The Fan.

TEOTWAWKI- The End Of The World As We Know It. In use since the early 80's.

WROL- Without Rule of Law. Describes a potential lawless state of society during a catastrophe.  The reason why survivalists must arm themselves.



LWM out.................