The St. Paul Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt has inspired people to dig endlessly into snow and ice in the heart of a Minnesota winter for more than 50 years. This rare breed of human being has designed its own language in order to communicate with like-minded souls. It is here that we attempt to decipher this strange lingo for the first time ever.
| Big W, The | refernce to it's a mad mad mad mad world. the moment when what you're looking for is right behind you. . |
| Camo Crue | a group of experienced medallion hunters that dress in camouflage hunting gear, hunt like a wolfpack, and guard their clue-decoding secrets warily |
| Cooler Crew | the name of this Web site, the moniker for supporters of this Web site, regular readers and writers of the CoolerCrew message board, and/or participants in activities put on by the Cooler Crew, particularly the Predig-Gig and Rehash Bash, which bookend the medallion hunt |
| CoNo | the park we all love to hate. it always seems like when we get a green cluewriter this is the go-to park for their inaugural hunt. The stylization "CoNo" is important. |
| Coolerhead | a CoolerCrew regular, which is all it takes to be a member of the Cooler Crew |
| digger | a medallion hunter (in snowy years, the medallion tends to be buried in the snow) |
| frog pond | an obvious reference point in Como Park near the Conservatory; used in context to mean lost, way off, confused, as in: "Yeah, right, I''ll see you in the frog pond!" |
| Joe | as in: "Hey, I got a Joe."; short for "Joe Medallion," a troublesome Water Cooler Message Board poster that would type several one- or two-character messages in a row to reach a numbered message like 3,000 or 4,500 |
| locusts | the sound of hundreds of shovels digging together at night |
| LOL | "Laugh Out Loud;" more of a chat/newsgroup acronym, but used frequently in CoolerCrew Message Boards |
| lurk | what one does when they''re hesitant to post in messages to the Water Cooler; lurking, lurker |
| Ma Press | The Pioneer Press. the purveyor of the fine hunt around which this group got started. |
| McGovern''s | Patrick McGovern''s Pub and Restaurant, a St. Paul institution located at 225 W. 7th Street that served as the annual gathering place for the Cooler Crew''s "Predig-Gig;" a charming establishment for good foods and drinks in one of the city''s most historic neighborhoods |
| MCL | "Much Cooler Love" - similar to SCDs |
| Medallionis venator | medallion hunters; coined by Kermit Pattison of the Pioneer Press to describe those seen roaming local parks with heavy parkas, shovels and lanterns; members of species either gather in boisterous flocks or hunt alone with a wary eye on potential competitors. |
| midnight | the witching hour; go to the St. Paul Pioneer Press Building at 345 Cedar Street after about the 6th clue, and you''ll see |
| noodle | an attempt to decipher the clues. Comes from "...using your noodle." noodling, noodled, noodles |
| Predig Gig | Annual CoolerCrew party celebrating the start of the hunt. It occurs the Saturday evening before the first clue is released usually at McGovern''s. A Cooler institution since 1999. |
| Rehash Bash | Annual CoolerCrew party celebrating the finding of the medallion. Typically occurs the Sunday following the finding of the Medallion at the part in which the Medallion is found. It is a giant potluck picnic, and family event. |
| SCDs | "Sweet Cooler Dreams;" used as a sign-off on the Pioneer Planet message board |
| slog | digging through posts on the Water Cooler Message Boards in order to catch up with a conversation (a near impossibility during peak medallion hunting season). Comes from "slog" - as in difficult and slow movement/ambulation through a material such as snow; slogging, slogged, slogs |
| to and fro | 1. a reference to clue 8 from 1998; defined by diggers as wandering aimlessly in search of the medallion, as in, "How''s your diggin'' goin''?" — "Not bad, but I''m kinda just to and fro, y''know?" — "Sure, you betcha. To and fro." 2. Back in the early days of the Water Cooler, we were allowed our own representative symbols, including animated gifs; a Cooler participant named BeeyoB had a little man that went "to and fro." |
| weekender | medallion hunter that can''t get away from work (usually) and family (sometimes) responsibilities until the weekend |
| "You Dig?" | question asked of strangers in the field to ascertain that they are Cooler Crew friendly; something of a Cooler Crew slogan. |