Talk:Spider hole

Foxhole

Since nothing links here, and since 'spider hole' is a linguistic extension of foxhole, wouldn't this information be more findable as a paragraph at 'Foxhole'? Wetman 14:32, 14 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Two pages linked here when I started creating the article. I have no objection to moving the material to foxhole, with "spider hole" as a redirect. -- Infrogmation 14:40, 14 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Seems like a good idea. At the moment we have "A spider hole is a fox hole" but no clue what a fox hole is! Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 21:26, 14 Dec 2003 (UTC)

That's fine. Whichever article they're in, I think we should remark that the two aren't quite the same thing. I believe a foxhole is a militant hole, whereas a spider hole is a militant hole with a camouflaged lid. -- Finlay McWalter 21:45, 14 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Safire

I just added William Safire's theory on the term's Vitenam War etymology. If someone can produce a quotation or reference from the WWII era using the term 'spider hole', I would be happy to see the Safire reference deleted. Dunhamrc 16:52, 17 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Safire is clueless, I'm afraid - the name has nothing to do with whether you might find spiders in them (even though you might). -- ChrisO 21:29, 17 Dec 2003 (UTC)

I can't speak with any authority, but it looks like a fairly direct reference to the Trapdoor Spiders to me. ASWilson 18:52, 21 October 2006 (UTC)

Likewise here, my understanding of the name origin of 'Spider Hole' was taken from the behaviour of the Trapdoor Spider, who digs such a concealed pit and waits to ambush prey that comes near. In the same manner, the concealed man in the spider hole observes and potentially ambushes 'prey' (enemy troops). The 'break it and spiders will get you' explanation makes no sense, as ANY ground-dwelling pest can potentially get at you. Singling out spiders seems very unlikely in this case, especially when a much more sensible definition exists. Occam's Razor and all that.

This origin should be removed or at LEAST the trapdoor spider comparison added. 209.52.88.48 (talk) 18:50, 9 February 2017 (UTC)

I think Safire should go. The man likely has no idea what he's talking about since the only references to clay pots with snakes and spiders I can find are his quotations. Not only that, but regardless of what kinds of nastyness the VC were up to, snakes and spiders make very unreliable weaponry and breaking a pot filled with them is not going to be an explosive event.. you're just going to have a lump of confused animals among pottery shards. Atzel 13:30, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Oh wait... I think I completely misunderstood what he ment. Still, it seems like a very unlikely explanation since spider holes still does not contain clay pots ^_^ Atzel 13:34, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Even if Safire is dead wrong, his comments should stay (and be explained that they are wrong). Safire is thought of as somewhat of a linguistic expert in some circles, and there are probably more than a few people who believe the false etymology based on his authority. If you don't include a "we know about this, and after due consideration we believe it's wrong," there will be a fair number of people who would conclude that Wikipedia is the one which is clueless. -- 21:35, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

Mention of Saddam

Are we going to mention every instance that someone was found in a foxhole, or just one? Seems a bit silly to include that bit of trivia. --The following unsigned comment was made by 142.161.95.0 at 03:51, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

Considering that this was a noteworthy event to the world, and made news for months afterwards, I'd like to think its worth mention.--Oni Ookami Alfador^Talk|@ 04:45, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

I agree with the first comment. The event was well publicised in the US and UK for a while, but will not be relevant to this topic in the future. Rob cowie 16:51, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

It would seem to fall in line with the mentioning of notable use of spider holes in other wars/military actions. And notable events can tend to contribute to an article. Since the reference was used on the main page recently(probably the reason for the flood of edits) it is definitely a notable event. How saddam was found is definitely something that will wind up in history textbooks, so it makes sense to have it here, or at the least, does not gain anything by truncating it from the article.--Oni Ookami Alfador^Talk|@ 19:49, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

I think it's fair enough to mention it. The term "spider hole" seems to have only became widely known among the general public after Saddam was found in one. -- ChrisO 20:00, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

Difference from foxholes

This seems unclear "A spider hole differs from a foxhole in that it is usually deeper and may afford access to a tunnel system." I would believe by reading this that its probably the spider hole that is deeper and connected to a tunnel system but if I recall correctly isn't it the opposite?--Oni Ookami Alfador^Talk|@ 04:45, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

Looking for a black-and-white WW2 Movie set in the Pacific Front

The only thing I can remember about it was a scene where two Marines killed a Japanese Sniper inside a spider hole near an Ammo Dump and hid inside it when they sensed that a group of Japanese Soldiers were coming. When a Japanese Officer went to check on the Spider Hole, one of the Marines spoke fluent Japanese and managed to avoid arousing suspicion. --Arima (talk) 04:28, 2 January 2010 (UTC)