They’re out there, determinedly searching for the Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt medallion, even in this frigid weather.
And, like any subculture in society, hardcore hunters have developed their own language.
Here’s one we hadn’t heard before: “ice booger.” With little snow in which to bury the medallion, one veteran expects it to be inside an “ice booger” — an ice clump with leaves and other things attached for camouflage.
“That’s what they’ve done in years past,” said avid hunter Ed Brodie of White Bear Lake, referring to the clue writer. “They go home and they’ll freeze a big clump of something together, whether it’s cockleburs or leaves or inside a frozen jeans pocket. It’s a big frozen booger.”
Here are more words and phrases that have evolved during the 68 years of the Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt.
The puck: A term for the elusive medallion. Could also be a reference to Shakespeare’s mischievous sprite.
Noodle. The hard thinking and using of one’s noodle to decipher clues.
Ma Press: The Pioneer Press. “the purveyor of the fine hunt around which this group got started,” according to a glossary from the Cooler Crew, a tightknit group of avid hunters.
Tailings: A spot where someone else has already hunted. Sometimes people have worked “tailings” and found the medallion — as in 2013, when the winner found the medallion in an already shoveled area near two empty Bailey’s Irish Cream bottles. (Those hunters know who they are.)
Near-misses: Every avid hunter has at least one. (See Bailey’s Irish Cream, above)
Locusts: The buzz of hunters’ shovels and tools at nighttime. More heard than seen.
Lurker: Someone who reads Treasure Hunt discussion forums to gain intelligence about the hunt but never contributes ideas.
CoNo: “The park we all love to hate,” says the Cooler Crew glossary, about St. Paul’s Como Park. “It always seems like when we get a green cluewriter this is the go-to park for their inaugural hunt.”
The scramble: The final night, when you can see hundreds of headlights in traffic jams en route to one Ramsey County park.
Mosh pit: Thousands of people thrashing about in one area on the final night, after the 12th clue comes out.
Outside the box: A nod to former clue writer Don Boxmeyer. “Basically meaning to expand your horizons of thought or park to search,” Brodie said. Can also mean when the medallion is hidden outside St. Paul.
Red herring: A clue intended to mislead or playfully deceive. But with consequences — such as hours of digging in the wrong park.
Slogging: Digging through a lot of snow. Or through the clues.
Tools: The diggers, sweepers, rakes, weeders and pokers people use. Sometimes with a flashlight duct-taped to the handle. “I have three options in the trunk,” said hunter Rebecca Howell Gibson of Forest Lake.
Brodie keeps a hammer or chisel to break ice. (See “ice booger,” above.) “And yes, you absolutely have to crack open every chunk of ice you see. I don’t leave anything bigger than a quarter in size,” Brodie said.
Are we missing some terms? Send yours in to llegge@pioneerpress.com.
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