Safire on "Spider Hole"

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

   Ummm, ahhhhhhh..."spider hole" was in the historical NEW YORK TIMES.
   You write a letter to the editor.  Anyone.  Me, I can barely control myself after reading the City section celebrate itself for 10 great years covering New York City.  (That's how long it's been.  I don't deserve fire exits.)


http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/15/opinion/15SAF1.htm
OP-ED COLUMNIST
>From the 'Spider Hole'
By WILLIAM SAFIRE
Published: December 15, 2003

(...)

Another useful bit of information is the origin of "spider hole," a phrase used by Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez to describe the dugout hiding place in which the fugitive Saddam was cowering.

This is Army lingo from the Vietnam era. The Vietcong guerrillas dug "Cu Chi tunnels" often connected to what the G.I.'s called "spider holes" — space dug deep enough for the placement of a clay pot large enough to hold a crouching man, covered by a wooden plank and concealed with leaves. When an American patrol passed, the Vietcong would spring out, shooting. But the hole had its dangers; if the pot broke or cracked, the guerrilla could be attacked by poisonous spiders or snakes. Hence, "spider hole."

(...)