sumpern.
/ˈsʌmpə/, U.S. /ˈsəmpər/ Mining. Now rare.
A hole made in or near the bottom of a shaft during its sinking; a blasting charge creating such a hole.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > explosive material > [noun] > quantity used in blasting operation > charge
shot1849
sumper1881
raker1883
shaped charge1948
1881 Minutes Proc. Inst. Civil Engineers 64 110 In hard rock the operation of boring would be about as follows: Four centre-holes; eight side sumpers..; twenty cropping holes.
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining 246 Sumper, a shot placed in or very near to the centre of the bottom of a sinking pit.
1922 Cornell Chemist 14 48/2 The shots are most often fired one at a time with the exception of the cut holes or ‘sumpers’.
1963 J. Sinclair Planning & Mechanized Drifting at Collieries xii. 295 Drilling patterns consist essentially of three groups of holes—1 . ‘cut’ holes or ‘sumpers’ which are blown first to give a free face for subsequent shots.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1881