Chock or Choke

[DesertDuke]

OK, which is it Chockstone or Chokestone? I have heard and used both.

[Scott P]

Chokestone is a Kelsey word. Only him and some others using his guidebook use it. The real name is chockstone.

[ratagonia]

Google:
Chockstone 1,440,000 results
Chokestone 23,100 results

T

[spinesnaper]

Google:
Chockstone 1,440,000 results
Chokestone 23,100 results

T

That google is amazing.

[jb]

The most prominent user of the word "chokestone" that I know of also spells the word "photo" with an "f" and inexplicably believes that "tamarisk" and "tamarack" are different words for the same organism. But you know, what are rules of language besides convention, over which no one has any real authority? Steve Pinker (a linguist), in his book The Language Instinct, has suggested ignoring, with total comfort, language rules that are useless in English, e.g. not ending phrases with prepositional phrases, not splitting infinitives, etc.

[canyoncaver]

I am glad to see this topic here. What has surprised me most is how many canyoneers (that are not MK) also use "chokestone." I see it on Bogley and beta sites all the time.

[Dan-wild]

I was guilty of saying "chokestone" until just recently. It seems more literal, or self-explanatory than "Chockstone." Oh well...

[penmartens]

I say chockstone
You say chokestone.
Just don't say Ral-stone.

[PG Rob]

Very witty!!

[Iceaxe]

I use chokestone.... YMMV...



From Merriam-Webster Dictionary

CHOKE
1: to check or block normal breathing of by compressing or obstructing the trachea or by poisoning or adulterating available air
2a : to check or hinder the growth, development, or activity of <the flowers were choked by the weeds>
2b : to obstruct by filling up or clogging <leaves choked the drain>
2c : to fill completely : jam <roads choked with traffic>
3: to enrich the fuel mixture of (a motor) by partially shutting off the air intake of the carburetor
4: to grip (as a baseball bat) some distance from the end of the handle —usually used with up

CHOCK
1: a wedge or block for steadying a body (as a cask) and holding it motionless, for filling in an unwanted space, or for blocking the movement of a wheel
2: a heavy metal casting (as on the bow or stern of a ship) with two short horn-shaped arms curving inward between which ropes or hawsers may pass for mooring or towing

[ghawk]

I say chockstone
You say chokestone.
Just don't say Ral-stone.

[Brian in SLC]

I use the term "chockstone" as I learned from climbing that these are stones that are in place in a similar manner as "chocks" used for climbing for protection (Ie, nuts, wedges, hexes, insert your favorite passive protection here, etc).

A "chokestone" to me would more describe a rock that is in place an impedes water flow. Ie, a stone that chokes off the flow.

Either kinda gets the idear across.

http://www.chockstone.org/dictionary.htm

[Dan-wild]

I say chockstone
You say chokestone.
Just don't say Ral-stone.

Awesome!

[TKPH]

I choke every time I hear or read chokestone. Or foto. But in that case, it's read-only.

Brian, I'm sure you know that the original climbing chocks were literally stones collected for the purpose.

[Scott P]

I use chokestone.... YMMV...



From
Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Free Online Dictionary:

chockstone [ˈtʃɒkˌstəʊn]
n Mountaineering1. (Individual Sports & Recreations / Mountaineering) a stone securely jammed in a crack. It may vary in size from a pebble to a large boulder
2. (Individual Sports & Recreations / Mountaineering) another name for chock [3]

[Iceaxe]

Free Online Dictionary:

Please.... that's like wiki... you can add anything to that dictionary.

FWIW: I just added chokestone to their dictionary so ya'll can stop whinning.

[canyoncaver]

FWIW: I just added chokestone to their dictionary so ya'll can stop whinning.

Or "whining," as the case may be...

[Brian in SLC]

Brian, I'm sure you know that the original climbing chocks were literally stones collected for the purpose.

From the Nuts Museum:

[FONT=Arial][QUOTE]
So the idea of deliberately placing stones in cracks to act as chocks and protect climbers was credited to Morley Wood during the ascent of Piggot's Climb on Clogwyn du'r Arddu (North Wales) in 1926. With this fundamental gesture the Nuts' Story began!

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]During the '40s and '50s, most if not all the routes followed natural lines. In England, climbers used to select well-rounded pebbles of various sizes and shapes lying at the bottom of the crags and carry them up the climb in their trouser pockets. They also collected granite stones from Wales and took them to the Derbyshire gritstone or limestone "edges"; posing a ticklish enigma for the geologists of the future when they discover these alien rocks. Closer to us, in 1954, Joe Brown and Don Whillans used chockstones in the very difficult crack of the [B][I]West Face of l'Aiguille de Blaiti