Have you ever heard a group of geology students talking and wondered if they were speaking a different language? The funny thing about geology is that normal everyday words get used in completely different ways. You thought you knew the meaning of a word? Read on to find out what they mean to your friendly neighborhood geologist.
1. Tension
What normal people mean: the awkward silence that happens when people are in disagreement.
What geologists mean: a stress that pulls a body (such as a rock or a section of rock) apart.
2. Plate
What normal people mean: a receptacle for your food.
What geologists mean: rigid sections of the Earth’s surface made up of the crust and upper mantle that have the ability to move and interact with other plates.
3. Crust
What normal people mean: the part of the bread that no one wants.
What geologists mean: the outermost layer of the Earth, a solid “shell” made up of rock and sediment.
4. Cleavage
What normal people mean: you know.
What geologists mean: the tendency for a mineral to break along planes determined by its crystal lattice structure.
5. Basement
What normal people mean: the level in a building beneath the ground floor that’s usually dusty, dark and the perfect setting for horror movies.
What geologists mean: the thick foundation of old rocks that makes up the crust of continents.
6. Bar
What normal people mean: where you go to socialize and get hammered on the weekends (or weeknights, depending on your preference).
What geologists mean: a mass of sediment deposited by a river system.
7. Bomb
What normal people mean: an explosive device (or person) that you should stay far away from.
What geologists mean: a large mass of molten lava ejected from a volcano and partially solidified during flight.
8. Blowout
What normal people mean: a process at the salon that results in great hair and a boost of confidence.
What geologists mean: depressions in sand caused by wind.
9. Contact
What normal people mean: touching or communicating with another person.
What geologists mean: the surface where two distinct bodies touch.
10. Normal
What normal people mean: the usual, the average.
What geologists mean: a type of fault where two blocks of rock are pulled apart by tension, and one block moves down relative to the other one.