Glossary

Hill Mole is full of the vocabulary of spies, soldiers, Hawaii, and Washington arguments. Here are the words a reader might want explained, each linked to the entry where it first turns up. For every person, place, theme, and scene, see the index.

21-foot rule
A self-defense rule of thumb from police trainer Dennis Tueller's 1983 drill: an attacker with a knife can cover about 21 feet before a defender draws and fires. First appears in I’ll probably, legally, shoot you to death.
Agent provocateur
Someone who incites others to illegal or discrediting acts, often on behalf of the authorities, so that they can be arrested or discredited. First appears in When people use the rhetorical riposte.
ALICE pack
The U.S. Army's rucksack from the 1970s on: All-purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment. First appears in A Fresh Clip of Ammo into the Chamber.
Appendix carry (AIWB)
Carrying a holstered handgun inside the waistband at the front of the body, roughly over the appendix. First appears in Nobody really uses the holsters or rigs you would think.
Babushka
Russian for grandmother, and in Soviet life the old woman on the bench who noticed everything. First appears in The Panopticon Has Cataracts.
BDUs
Battle Dress Uniform, the woodland camouflage fatigues the U.S. military wore from the early 1980s into the 2000s. First appears in Silent Movement.
Blowback
Intelligence slang for the unintended consequences of a covert operation that come back on the country that ran it. First appears in Emerson’s Invisible Eye.
Castle Doctrine
The legal principle that a person may use force, including deadly force, to defend themselves at home without first trying to retreat. The details vary by state. First appears in Never video record yourself defending your home with deadly force.
Center mass
The middle of the torso, where defensive shooters are trained to aim. First appears in Police have almost limitless freedom.
DIA
The Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon's military intelligence service. First appears in Spies are Everywhere.
Emergent system
A system whose overall behavior arises from many simple parts following local rules, with nobody in charge. Ant colonies and beehives are the classic examples. First appears in Emergent Systems.
False flag
An operation disguised to look as though someone else carried it out. First appears in Conspiracy theory of COVID testing centers as COVID distribution centers.
Ghillie suit
Camouflage covered in strips of burlap or foliage, worn by snipers and hunters to disappear into the ground cover. First appears in Cap Hill Camo.
Gitmo
Guantánamo Bay, the U.S. naval base in Cuba and the site of the military prison opened in 2002. First appears in Washington Summers.
Godwin's law
Mike Godwin's 1990 observation that the longer an online argument runs, the closer the odds of a comparison to Hitler or the Nazis come to certainty. First appears in Godwin’s rule of Trump analogies.
Grey man
Someone who dresses and behaves so ordinarily that nobody notices or remembers him. First appears in Little Grey Men.
Handler
The intelligence officer who runs an agent: gives direction, receives what the agent gathers, and keeps the relationship secret. First appears in Olly Olly Oxen Free.
Haole
Hawaiian for a person who isn't Native Hawaiian, most often a white person. First appears in I Was a Haole.
JROTC
Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps, the military's program for high school students. First appears in Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps.
Kama’aina
Hawaiian for "child of the land": a longtime resident of the islands, whatever their ancestry. First appears in I Was a Haole.
LRRP (Lurps)
Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol, small Army teams that scouted deep in enemy territory, most famously in Vietnam. First appears in A Backpack, Hiking Boots, Secret Pockets, Pouch Pockets.
Walter Lippmann's 1922 phrase for managing public opinion, later the title of Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky's 1988 book on propaganda in the mass media. First appears in Manufacture of consent defined.
Mata Hari
The Dutch dancer executed by France in 1917 as a German spy, and ever since the byword for a seductive spy. First appears in The Mata Hari Syndrome.
Meme
Richard Dawkins' 1976 word for an idea, habit, or style that spreads from mind to mind the way genes spread from body to body. First appears in There is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch.
Metanoia
Greek for a change of mind or heart; in Christian usage, repentance and conversion. First appears in Bribery, Blackmail, and Coercion.
Moke and tita
Hawaii Pidgin for a tough local guy and a tough local girl. First appears in I Was a Haole.
Mole
An agent placed inside an organization, often for years, before being put to use. First appears in Hiding in Plain Sight.
Noble lie
Plato's idea, from the Republic, of a myth the rulers tell so that society stays in harmony. First appears in Noble lie.
Olly olly oxen free
The call in hide-and-seek that tells everyone still hiding they can come out without being caught. First appears in Olly Olly Oxen Free.
OPFOR
Opposing force: the unit that plays the enemy in military training exercises. First appears in A Fresh Clip of Ammo into the Chamber.
Panopticon
Jeremy Bentham's design for a prison where one watchman can see every cell, now shorthand for surveillance everywhere. First appears in Making Sausage Versus Sausage Making.
Pickle Factory and the Company
Old nicknames for the CIA. First appears in False Name.
Printing
When the outline of a concealed handgun shows through clothing. First appears in You will be extremely discreet with your gun carry.
Reichstag fire
The 1933 fire in the German parliament building, which the Nazis blamed on communists and used to justify emergency powers. Shorthand for a pretext for a crackdown. First appears in January 6th was the worst American Reichstag Fire ever.
Rotsee
ROTC, said out loud. First appears in A Fresh Clip of Ammo into the Chamber.
Shy Tory factor
British pollsters' name for Conservative voters who won't admit their vote to a pollster, which makes the polls undercount the party. First appears in The shy Trump factor will get Donald Trump handily reëlected in November.
Simulacrum
A copy or imitation that stands in for the real thing. First appears in Memory of a Simpler Time and a Better Woman.
Smith–Mundt Act
The 1948 law behind U.S. government broadcasting abroad. The Smith–Mundt Modernization Act of 2012 lifted its ban on sharing that material with Americans at home. First appears in The Smith–Mundt Act is Dead.
Sousveillance
Recording from below, by participants, rather than from above by authorities. The inverse of surveillance; Steve Mann coined the word. First appears in Sousveillance and the Sousveiller.
Spetsnaz
Soviet, and later Russian, special forces. First appears in Spetsnaz-Trained Special Forces Operatives.
The Doors of Perception
Aldous Huxley's 1954 book about mescaline, where he describes the brain as a "reducing valve" that filters what we perceive. First appears in It Takes a Village to Raise a Holy Man.
Useful idiot
A derogatory term for someone who promotes a cause without understanding it and is used by its leaders. It's widely, and wrongly, attributed to Lenin. First appears in Useful idiots.
Wet work
Spy slang for assassination. First appears in Little Grey Men.
Whataboutism
Answering criticism by pointing to someone else's misdeeds instead of addressing the criticism. First appears in Godwin’s rule of Trump analogies.