Survival Dictionary

An oar is used to propel a boat through water. As opposed to a paddle, an oar is attached to a boat via rowlocks.

A fertile place in the desert where there is water and some vegetation.

Morse Code abbreviation meaning “Old boy”

Overcome By Events.

When the bone is broken in a diagonal fashion, it is called an oblique fracture.

Morse Code abbreviation meaning “Old chap”

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance.

Living self-sufficiently without dependence on infrastructure like grid electricity, municipal water, public sewerage. The object is to not use or pay any money for public utilities.

The edible internal organs of an animal.

is a type of racing by ocean-going powerboats, typically point-to-point racing.

Morse Code abbreviation meaning “Okay”

Slang for an experienced mariner.

Ceramic jar used for cooking stews or soups, storage of water or dry foods, etc.

Morse Code abbreviation meaning “Old man”

A code of honor that places importance on silence, non-cooperation with authorities and non-interference in the illegal actions of others. Retaliation against informers is common in criminal circles, where informers are known as rats or snitches.

Animals that eat parts of fruit-bearing plants, but generally only the fruits and vegetables.

As quickly as possible; without delay.

To lean on a shovel to support one’s weight while defecating.

In the event of a major disaster, you may have the opportunity to make one trip to your retreat location before roads become impassible due to road blocks, road closures, or traffic jams.

Morse Code abbreviation meaning “Official observer”

Morse Code abbreviation meaning “Operator”

An exposed injury due to broken skin and at high risk for infection.

A cognitive bias that causes a person to believe that they are at a lesser risk of experiencing a negative event compared to others. It is quite common and transcends gender, race, nationality and age. Factors that cause a person to be optimistically biased are their desired end state, their cognitive mechanisms, the information they have about themselves versus others, and overall mood. Although the optimism bias occurs for both positive and negative events, it is stronger for negative events.

Or intercardinal points are Northeast, Southeast, Southwest and Northwest.

Using a map and compass to determine route and direction of travel. It is a competitive sport.

As opposed to a lensatic compass, it is used in map reading. It comprises the compass rose, needle and a transparent base plate to align the compass with the map coordinates.

On the Move, from the phonetic alphabet.

Morse Code abbreviation meaning “Old timer”

OTA Survival School. The first civilian survival and self-reliance training organisation in India

A unit of volume equal to about 28ml in the imperial system or about 30ml in the US system.

Exactly 28.349523125gm under the international yard and pound agreement of 1959, signed by the United States and countries of the Commonwealth of Nations. 16 ounces make an avoirdupois pound, which equals 7000 grains. One avoirdupois ounce is therefore equal to 437.5 grains. It is still a standard unit in United States.

A troy ounce equal 480 grains or 31.1034768gm. There are 12 troy ounces in the troy pound. Today, the troy ounce is used only to express the mass of precious metals.

A metric ounce is 25gm and 20 ounces make the metric pound of 500gm.

A proword in radio communications signifying the end of the sender’s transmission and no answer is required or expected.

The vast and remote interior of the Australian continent. It is becoming a generic term referring to any place that is remote.

A small structure separate from a main building that has one or more toilets. This is typically a dry toilet like a pit latrine or a bucket toilet.

A proword in radio communications signifying the end of the sender’s transmission and a response is necessary from the recipient. Contrary to popular belief, “OVER” and “OUT” are never used at the same time.

When more than 90% of the sky is covered by clouds.

A bias in which a person’s subjective confidence in his or her judgements is reliably greater than the objective accuracy of those judgements, especially when confidence is relatively high. It is an example of a miscalibration of subjective probabilities. It has been defined in three distinct ways: (1) overestimation of one’s actual performance; (2) overplacement of one’s performance relative to others; and (3) overprecision in expressing unwarranted certainty in the accuracy of one’s beliefs.

Tendency to overestimate one’s judgment or performance. It focuses on the certainty one feels in their own ability, performance, level of control, or chance of success. This phenomenon is most likely to occur on hard tasks when failure is likely or when the individual making the estimate is not especially skilled. Overestimation has been seen to occur across domains other than those pertaining to one’s own performance.

When a length of cordage takes a turn and crosses over itself from above.

Day after tomorrow.

A judgment of performance compared to others, occuring when people believe themselves to be better than others, or better-than-average.It is the act of placing yourself or rating yourself superior to others. Occurs more on simple tasks, ones we believe are easy to accomplish successfully.

The excessive confidence that one knows the truth.

A cloud or other weather phenomenon that may be indicative of an upcoming storm.

Large isolated backwaters.

A stagnant lake formed alongside a river when it changes path leaving an abandoned area cut off from the rest of the river.

Type of chemical which a fuel requires to burn. Most types of burning uses oxygen as oxidiser.

An instrument to monitor the oxygen saturation in the blood without any invasive procedure.

Condition resulting from the harmful effects of breathing molecular oxygen at increased partial pressures, resulting in hyperoxia or excess oxygen in the tissues. Severe cases can result in cell damage and death. It is a concern for underwater divers, those on high concentrations of supplemental oxygen, and those undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

The lower portion of the stratosphere in the Earth’s atmosphere that acts as a shield, guarding against harmful ultraviolet rays from the Sun reaching the ground.