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by KineticLensman 1305 days ago
> in the UK you dig a hole with a hoe

(Pedantic Brit here) I think most Brits would say 'with a spade' if asked how to dig a hole and would use a hoe to break up soil, disrupt weeds, harvest roots, etc [0].

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoe_(tool)
2 comments
tengwar2 1305 days ago
As a Brit, I would say the same. However it may be some specialised terminology - for instance the wooden beams that support the coffin over the grave before it is lowered are "putlocks", a word I had not come across before. So it would not surprise me if a sexton referred to a spade as a hoe.
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KineticLensman 1305 days ago
(going down a rabbit hole now. I think that's the right phrase)

There are loads of sites that offer grave digging services or equipment (e.g. [0]) although none mention hoes that I can see. However, I did find more about the use of hoes to actually dig holes (coming back to the original subject): [1]. How could I have forgotten about 'mattocks'.

[0] https://www.equipter.com/equipter-articles/grave-digging-too...

[1] https://grasstrimmerreviews.co.uk/best-digging-hoe-uk/

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tengwar2 1305 days ago
It's possible that the word "hoe" is rarely written down in this context. I wasn't able to find "putlock" in this context on the web, although I found a blockchain protocol where the name clearly linked the words "grave" and "putlock"
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blowski 1305 days ago
I have a mattock for breaking up the clods on my allotment.
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gadders 1305 days ago
Mattocks are amazing. I've used them for taking up small stumps from shrubs as well.
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culturestate 1305 days ago
A backhoe[1] is not a hoe in the gardening sense, but the colloquial American term for an excavator. You might call it a JCB.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backhoe

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willyt 1305 days ago
In Britain we just call them 'diggers'. JCB is a very common British digger brand though so they do get called that as well. We do have backhoe loaders they are machines with a wide flat shovel for scooping material up and moving it around or loading it into a dumper truck. You wouldn't dig a hole with one but most people would look at it and call it a digger.
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yetanotherloser 1305 days ago
I think you're correct, but if you need to dig a big hole I strongly recommend a mattock. (Source: too much archaeology)
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irrational 1305 days ago
Huh, TIL that what I always called a pickaxe is actually called a mattock.
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mellavora 1305 days ago
you obviously need to play more nethack
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