Treasure Hunting Terms, Abbreviations, and Lingo
The following is a list of treasure hunting terms, abbreviations, and lingo used. Like most activities, treasure hunting has its special lingo. Even different hunts in the Armchair Treasure Hunt community have special abbreviations. This was most noticed in the Forrest Fenn treasure hunt of The Thrill of the Chase. Abbreviations like WWWH or HOB were often confusing to new hunters.
Below find the most common.
- ATH: Armchair Treasure Hunt
- Fully Armchair: All can be solved, and claimed, from the comfort of your home
- BOTG: Boots on the Ground. Although some clues might be solved from home, the final steps to claiming a treasure requires physically going to a location.
- GE: Google Earth
- GM: Google Maps
- MW: Abbreviation for this website: Mysterious Writings
- Red Herring: Intended false lead by creator (more on that term here)
- Rabbit Hole: Incorrect lead followed by searcher (more on that term here)
- FHH, XM, THH: Any treasure hunt quickly gets abbreviated by their first letters. FHH – Forgotten History Hunts, XM – Xavier Marx, or THH- The Hatter’s Hat are examples of such.
- Pulling a Skydrop: Changing the rules of the game during a hunt
THERE’S TREASURE INSIDE puzzle terms being used
- TTI: There’s Treasure Inside
- JCB: Jon Collins-Black
- FF (box): Forrest Fenn Box
- PB: Pokémon Box
- PF (box): Past and Future box
- AT (box): The Appalachian Footpath box
- LS (box): The Lion’s Share box
- WS: Word Search
- RPO: Ready Player One
As more terms are used, I’ll add them here and update the page. Join the adventures!