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▪ I. ˈpot-hole, n. Geol.
Also pothole, pot hole.
[f. pot n.1 + hole n.]
1. A deep hole of more or less cylindrical shape; esp. one formed by the wearing away of rock by the rotation of a stone, or a collection of gravel, in an eddy of running water, or in the bed of a glacier.
1826T. L. McKenney Sk. Tour to Lakes (1827) 54 The waters were once, in many places, some fifty feet above their present level; for their action upon the rocks is plainly seen in the pot holes, as the excavations are called, which are made by the action of pebbles upon the rocks. 1839Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. II. 373/1, 8 feet of the workable stone may be considered free from ‘allum’ or ‘pot holes’ containing calcareous spar, to which this stone is subject. 1862Dana Man. Geol. 641 The ‘Basin’ in the Franconia Notch (White Mountains) is a pot-hole in granite, fifteen feet deep and twenty and twenty five feet in its two diameters. 1873J. Geikie Gt. Ice Age (1894) 431 Large pot-holes formed on the bed of a glacier by water plunging down through crevasses. 1878Huxley Physiogr. ix. 134 The grinding action of pebbles, when set in motion by water, is strikingly shown in the formation of potholes.
2. See quot.
1898Archæol. Jrnl. Ser. ii. V. 294 That the manufacture of pottery was carried on in Hayling in former times is shown by the existence of ‘pot-holes’, i.e. holes from which clay has been taken.
3. N. Amer. A pond formed by a natural hollow in the ground in which water has collected. Cf. slew n.1 1, slough n.1 4. Also attrib.
1902Saskatchewan Hist. (1956) IX. 31 In natural depressions of the soil..water had gathered and formed so-called ‘pot-holes’—circular basins of a swampy nature, generally rather shallow. The ‘potholes’ usually have a heavy growth of wild hay. 1938S. C. Ells Northland Trails 85 It is a land of mysterious pot-hole lakes and ponds with neither inlets nor outlets. 1946Sun (Baltimore) 5 July 11/3 Experimental planting of fish with airplanes gives promise for the ‘back in there’ pothole lakes and spring holes. 1955R. P. Hobson Nothing too Good for Cowboy (1956) vii. 69 The pothole meadows were still some five miles away from the spruce clump. 1962Daily Progress (Charlottesville, Va.) 17 Aug. 4/2 Minnesota and the Dakotas..are dotted with innumerable small ponds called ‘potholes’. 1963Globe & Mail (Toronto) 13 Mar. 17/1 Show me the man who doesn't get the shivers when half-a-dozen greenhead mallards start side-slipping into the pothole in front of him.
4. A depression or hollow part forming a defect in the surface of a road or track. Also attrib.
1909Westm. Gaz. 30 Aug. 1/3 We are also beginning to see how much our urban and suburban macadam roads suffer from artificial watering and constant scavenging, for all road engineers are agreed that the uneven surfaces and pot-holes..are practically confined to the districts where the water-cart reigns supreme. 1920Motor Cycle 30 Sept. 384/2 On the outward journey the pot-holes between Edinburgh and Stirling seemed appalling. 1955Times 5 July 5/7 On the other hand the springing makes rather heavy going of potholes like those caused by recessed manhole covers. 1972‘J. & E. Bonett’ No Time to Kill v. 52 The grey car turned onto a dirt road, slowed to a crawl as it met the potholes. 1978New York 3 Apr. 100/4 The locals of D.C. 37 represent social-service workers, botanical garden employees, city engineers, pothole repairmen, hospital employees, [etc.]
5. Austral. A shallow hole dug in the ground in prospecting for opal dirt (see opal 4). Also attrib.
1940I. L. Idriess Lightning Ridge 90 For a time I sank pot-holes alone then went mates with little Archie Campbell. 1967― Opals & Sapphires 112 Keep the find quiet until you have sunk more potholes to prove that it is worth while pegging out.
▪ II. ˈpot-hole, v.
Also pothole.
[f. the n.]
1. trans. To produce pot-holes in.
1909Cent. Dict. Suppl., Pot-hole, to produce in (a solid rock mass) a hole by the action of stones and silt whirled round in an eddy of water. 1975Nature 20 Mar. 189/2 It was channelled and potholed by running water.
2. a. trans. To explore (pot-holes or the like). b. intr. To engage in pot-holing.
1970Observer (Colour Suppl.) 25 Jan. 30/4 Its underworld labyrinth of elves and trolls consists of tunnels he potholed as a boy. 1970Times 26 Oct. 4 They were with 10 others potholing on the Pennines at Casterton, near Kirkby Lonsdale. |