Hash Lingo

Alcohol Abuse: spilling or otherwise wasting beer at any time during a hash, especially during down-downs

“Are You?” (R U?): question shouted by the pack to FRBs, meaning “Are you on trail?”

Arrow: directional trail mark; also see True Trail Arrow, Pack Arrow 

A-to-A: trail that ends where it starts 

A-to-B: point-to-point trail

Auto-Hashing: hitching a ride to the end, a heinous violation of hash etiquette

Beer Check: 1) beverage stop; 2) trail mark* indicating a beverage stop

Beer Near: trail mark* indicating proximity of beverages; can be associated with a beer check, on-in, or on-home

Chalk Talk: trail instructions for virgin or visiting hashers

Check: trail mark* indicating an intersection where true trail may take another direction

“Checking!”: answer shouted by FRB to pack when asked “Are You?”, indicating that FRB has not determined whether the trail he’s following is true or false

Circle: assembly of hashers at trail’s end, normally for the purpose of conducting down-downs

Co-hare: hare’s assistant . . . in many hashes it is normal to have two or more hares laying trail together; in others it is a rare event

Dead F*cking Last (DFL): last member of pack to finish trail, sometimes honored during down-downs (though this goes against the grain of hashing’s “non-competitive” ethos)

Dead Hare: hare who lays the entire trail before the pack sets out; sometimes accompanies the pack to ensure it doesn’t get lost (see Sweeper)

Dead on Trail (DOT): hopelessly lost

Debauchery: Any of several morale-building mixed-sex activities indulged in by hashers, usually during aprés, usually (but not always) confined to American hashing circles

Doo-Loop: looping section of trail designed to slow down the pack and give the hare more lead

Down-Down: the ceremony of quaffing a beverage (an honor)

Down-Downs: the ceremony of honoring deserving hashers after the trail

Eagle Trail: an optional section of trail, longer or more difficult than the standard trail

False Trail: see Bad Trail; a section of trail going nowhere, designed to slow down the pack and give the hare more lead

Front Running Bastard (FRB): faster member of the pack, also the one member of the pack who finishes trail first (and is normally “honored” for same, since one should not be competitive)

Full Moon: frequently an occasion for an evening hash; many kennels hash every full moon throughout the year

“G” Day: February 11th. A.S. Gispert (“G”), the father of hashing, was killed in action defending Singapore from invading Japanese forces on this date in 1942

Hare: hasher who lays the trail; see Live Hare, Dead Hare

Hare Arrow: trail mark*, normally means “true trail,” but not always

Harriette: female hasher

Hash: 1) the Hash House Harriers, as in “I run with the hash”; 2) an individual kennel, as in “I run with the New York Hash”; 3) the actual event, as in “I’m hashing tonight”; 4) trail marks*, as in chalk, flour, or paper

Hasher: any Hash House Harrier

Hash Etiquette: euphemism for “rule”; also see Rule # 1

Hash House: 1) the Selangor Club in Kuala Lumpur, meeting place of the Mother Hash; 2) any hash hangout, usually a bar

Hash House Harrier: any hasher

Hash House Harriers (HHH or H3): 1) hashers; 2) the hash

Hash Hymn: song sung by the pack during down-downs; see also International Hash Hymn

Hashing: the act of running a hash trail

Hash Shit (Hash-It, Hashit): offensive or embarrassing object given to a hasher for notable on-trail accomplishments, normally carried by the awardee on subsequent trails until it is awarded to someone else; sometimes also used as a nickname for the awardee

Hat: in most hashes, not to be worn while doing down-downs

Hounds: the body of hashers in pursuit of the hare, see also Pack

Kennel: Hash House Harrier chapter or club

Live Hare: hare who gets a nominal head start and is pursued by the pack as he lays trail

Long-Cutting Bastard (LCB): 1) slower member of the pack; 2) someone who gets horribly lost and comes in late

Mismanagement: hash officials; sometimes elected, sometimes appointed

On-Afters: see Aprés, On-On-Ons, On-On-On-Ons

“On-Back”: shouted by FRBs to the pack when FRBs encounter a back check

On-In: 1) trail’s end, also On-In; 2) trail mark* indicating proximity to end

“On-On”: 1) shouted by FRBs or hounds to indicate they’re on trail, sometimes used only to indicate true trail; 2) trail mark* in lieu of a true trail arrow

“On-One” (“On-Two,” etc): shouted by FRBs or hounds to indicate the number of flour marks they’ve seen on an unexplored trail, usually after a check

Pack: hashers in pursuit of the hare, also Hounds

Pack Arrow: mark left by a member of the pack indicating direction taken; follow at your own peril

Pre-Lay: act of laying the trail or sections thereof before the hash; sometimes a violation, sometimes not, depending on kennel traditions; like masturbation, widely practiced but seldom admitted

Private Party: act of participating in a non-circle conversation, thereby showing disrespect to the GM during down-downs

Ranging: the process whereby certain hounds run with total disregard for the trail

Receding Hareline: list of upcoming hash events, normally printed in the hash trash

Red Dress Run: theme hash where hares and pack wear red dresses; variations include lingerie runs, mini-skirt runs, muumuu runs, nude runs, etc

Rule: universally-understood tenet of acceptable hash behavior; never called a “rule” but often euphemized as “tradition” or “hash etiquette”

Rule # 1: “There are no rules”

Rule # 2: “See Rule # 1”

Shiggy: jungle, thick vegetation, rocks, cliffs, streams, etc; especially mud (O2H3 shiggy Meter: 0=no shiggy… 1-3=mostly urban, some off-road, very little water… 4-6=mostly off-road, some water, light brush… 7-10=no urban, definite wet, mud, and heavy brush)

Shiggy-Shaggy (aka Zicky-Zacky): a chant made by the hash in response to anyone verbally screwing up. The offender must drink beer, but not necessarily a full down-down

Shitty: adjective used to describe a really good trail

Short-Cutting: the act of attempting to short-cut the trail

Short-Cutting Bastard (SCB): habitual short-cutter, a title of esteem in most hashes

Sixty-Nine: a number fraught with significance

Sweeper: hasher, normally an experienced member of the pack, assigned to follow the pack in order to ensure no one gets lost; this function is sometimes performed by a dead hare

Trail Recce: act of scouting a potential trail; hare practice

True Trail: the correct trail that leads to the on-in

True Trail Arrow: trail mark* indicating true trail

Turkey Trail: optional section of trail, normally shorter and easier than the main trail

Violation: any infraction of hash etiquette or tradition, on- or off-trail

Violator: he or she who must be punished, normally by down-down

Virgin: first-time hasher; also applied to first-time hare

Virgin Lay: 1) a virgin hare’s first trail; 2) a new kennel’s first hash

Wanker: literally, a masturbator; in English/Australian use, a sort of “Sad Sack” character; in hash use, an everyday hasher

YBF: bad trail mark*; stands for “You’ve Been F*cked”

Zicky-Zacky: see Shiggy-Shaggy