Definitions

Inspired by Lilac11's blog, this page gives the definition of the words used when searching for objects in the SSHM pictures. Whether it is for your own general culture or to help foreign language and cultural players, you will find a basic definition for the words on this page.

As one person wrote, 'The Secret Society ; Expanding your vocabulary one object at a time '.


 * Accordion - Flower Shop - Musical instrument played by compressing or expanding the bellows while pressing buttons or keys, causing pallets to open, which allow air to flow across strips of brass or steel, called reeds. These vibrate to produce sound inside the body. Valves on opposing reeds of each note are used to make the instrument's reeds sound louder without air leaking from each reed block.
 * Albatros - Treasure Island - The albatros is a large white seabird with long narrow wings.
 * Amanita - Forest House - A mushroom of the poisonous species
 * Backgammon - Heart of the Dunes - Backgammon is one of the oldest known board games. It is a two player game where each player has fifteen pieces (checkers) which move between twenty-four triangles (points) according to the roll of two dice. The objective of the game is to be first to bear off, i.e. move all fifteen checkers off the board. Backgammon is a member of the tables family, one of the oldest classes of board games.
 * Backpack - Forester's Base/Spooky Yard - A cloth sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders, but there can be variations to this basic design.
 * Baguette - Flower Shop - A baguette is a long, thin loaf of French bread that is commonly made from basic lean dough. It is distinguishable by its length and crisp crust.
 * Barometer - Captain's Cabin - A barometer is an instrument that measures atmospheric pressure.
 * Basbousa - Heart of the Dunes - Is a traditional Middle Eastern sweet cake. It is made from cooked semolina or farina soaked in simple syrup ; coconut is also a popular option to add into this pastry. Orange flower water or rose water is also an optional addition to the simple syrup used in the basbousa.
 * Bellows - Lost Laboratory/Ancient Library - A bellows or pair of bellows is a device constructed to furnish a strong blast of air. The simplest type consists of a flexible bag comprising a pair of rigid boards with handles joined by flexible leather sides enclosing an approximately airtight cavity which can be expanded and contracted by operating the handles, and fitted with a valve allowing air to fill the cavity when expanded, and with a tube through which the air is forced out in a stream when the cavity is compressed. It has many applications, in particular blowing on a fire to supply it with air.
 * Beret - Flower Shop - A beret is a soft, visorless cap with a close-fitting headband and a wide, round top often with a tab at its center.
 * Bib - Nursery - A piece of cloth, plastic, or paper that covers the chest and is often tied under the chin of a child to protect the clothing while the child is eating.
 * Binocular - Mountain Resort/Ancient Library - Binoculars are two telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes (binocular vision) when viewing distant objects.
 * Bixi turtle - Tea Corner - Is a figure from Chinese mythology. One of the 9 sons of the Dragon King, he is depicted as a dragon with the shell of a turtle.
 * Bonnet - Nursery - A type of hat, once worn by women or children, held in place by ribbons tied under the chin
 * Bota bag - Farm/Vikings Village - A wine bag made of untanned goatskin and holding 1–2 liters
 * Brooch - High Tower - A brooch is a decorative jewelry item designed to be attached to garments, often to hold them closed. It is usually made of metal, often silver or gold but sometimes bronze or some other material. Brooches are frequently decorated with enamel or with gemstones and may be solely for ornament (as in the stomacher) or sometimes serve a practical function as a fastening, perhaps for a cloak.
 * Bun - Luxury Express - Bread Roll or Kaiser Roll
 * Bundle of spikes - Mill - Not in dictionary but resembles a bundle of wheat
 * Calendar - Wonder Shop/Secret Mailroom -A calendar is a system of organizing days for social, religious, commercial or administrative purposes. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years.
 * Camellia - Observation Deck - A shrub with white, pink, red, or variegated roselike flowers
 * Candy floss or cotton candy - Tree of Dates/Bakery - Cotton candy made from spun sugar (aka Fairy Floss)
 * Cezve - Heart of the Dunes/Eastern Bazaar - A cezve is a small long-handled pot with a pouring lip designed specifically to make Turkish coffee.
 * Chain mail - Vikings Village - Armour chain or maille (also chain mail(le) or chainmail(le)) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh.
 * Chamomile - Bakery - Chamomile is the common name for several daisy-like plants of the family Asteraceae. Two of the species are commonly used to make herb infusions.
 * Cherub statue - Throne Room - A Cherub statue is a statue of an angel whose gift is knowledge; usually portrayed as a winged child.
 * Cobra - Excavations - Cobra is the common name for various venomous snakes.
 * Compass - Forester's Base/Excavations/Treasure Island - A compass is an instrument used for navigation and orientation that shows direction relative to the geographic cardinal directions (or points)
 * Cordierite - Vikings Village - Cordierite (mineralogy) or iolite (gemology) is a magnesium iron aluminium cyclosilicate. Iron is almost always present and a solid solution exists between Mg-rich cordierite and Fe-rich sekaninaite.
 * Crane - Japanese House/Tea Corner - Cranes are a family of large, long-legged and long-necked birds in the group Gruiformes.
 * Dagger - Heart of the Dunes/Venice - A dagger is a knife with a very sharp point and two or more sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon
 * Daruma doll - Japanese House - A wishing doll that keeps one focused on achieving goals
 * Domono's tiles - Tea Corner - Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with rectangular domino tiles. Each domino is a rectangular tile with a line dividing its face into two square ends.
 * Doublet - High Tower - A doublet is a close-fitting outer garment, with or without sleeves and sometimes having a short skirt, worn by men in the Renaissance.
 * Drakkar bow - Vikings Village - Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure . Some might have had a dragon's head on the bow ( front of the ship ).
 * Drinking horn - Forester's Base - A drinking horn is the horn of a bovid used as a drinking vessel.
 * Elf - Christmas Eve - A Christmas elf is a diminutive elf that lives with Santa Claus at the North Pole and acts as his helper.
 * Fairy - Christmas Eve - A fairy is a mythical being of folklore and romance usually having diminutive human form and magic powers .
 * Flask - Forester's Base - A flat metal or glass bottle for carrying in the pocket
 * French Macaron - Tree of Dates/Flower Shop - A round, colored cookie consisting of a filling between two halves; not to be confused with macaroon which is a drop cookie of almond paste or coconut
 * Fujiyama - Japanese House - Also known as Mount Fuji
 * "Garden" item - Japanese House - a miniature decorative "zen garden", a tray of sand with a rake for making furrows.
 * Gas Canister - Farm - Petrol Can or Jerry Can
 * Gear - High Tower - A gear or cogwheel is a rotating machine part having cut like teeth, or cogs, which mesh with another toothed part to transmit torque.
 * Geta sandal - Japanese House - Geta sandals are a form of traditional Japanese footwear that resemble clogs and flip-flops. They are a kind of sandal with an elevated wooden base held onto the foot with a fabric thong to keep the foot well above the ground.
 * Globe - High Tower - A globe is a spherical model of Earth.
 * Gong - Tea Corner/Japanese Shrine - A gong is an East and Southeast Asian musical percussion instrument that takes the form of a flat, circular metal disc which is hit with a mallet.
 * Good luck knot - Tea Corner - A Chinese knot is a knot that is tied and woven from a single length of cord or rope to be a variety of shapes and of varying complexity. Each shape has its own symbolic meaning, and nowadays you can find them as decoration, gifts for special occasions, and adornments on clothes.
 * Gramophone - Ghost Town - A gramophone is an old type of record player.
 * Grapping hook - Mountain Resort - A grapping hook is a device with multiple hooks, attached to a rope; it is thrown, dropped, sunk, projected, or fastened directly by hand to where at least one hook may catch and hold.
 * Guitar - Mountain Resort/Saloon/Misty Shed - The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that usually has six strings.
 * Hand drill - Excavations - A hand drill is a tool fitted with a cutting tool attachment or driving tool attachment, usually a drill bit or driver bit, used for boring holes in various materials or fastening various materials together . It is activated by hand power.
 * Harmonica - Flower Shop/Saloon - The harmonica is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres.
 * Harpoon - Vikings Village/Treasure Island/Captain's Cabin - A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument used in fishing, whaling, sealing, and other marine hunting to catch large fish or marine mammals such as whales.
 * Holly - Christmas Eve - A holly is a genus of trees and shrubs with spiny-margined evergreen leaves and usually red berries often used for Christmas decorations.
 * Hookah - Heart of the Dunes/Buddha's Square - A hookah is a single- or multi-stemmed instrument for vaporizing and smoking flavored tobacco, whose vapor or smoke is passed through a water basin—often glass-based—before inhalation.
 * Hourglass - Throne Room/Ancient Library - An hourglass is a device used to measure the passage of time. It comprises two glass bulbs connected vertically by a narrow neck that allows a regulated trickle of material (historically sand) from the upper bulb to the lower one.
 * Hours - Night Garden - Not in dictionary but resembles a clock face.
 * Inkwell - Ancient Library/Captain's Cabin - An inkwell is a small jar or container, often made of glass, porcelain, silver, brass, or pewter, used for holding ink in a place convenient for the person who is writing.
 * Jeep - Excavations - A four-wheel drive vehicle of one-half- to one-and-one-half-ton capacity for reconnaissance.
 * Jerboa - Excavations - Mouselike rodent of North Africa and Asia, with long hind legs used for jumping.
 * Jester's hat - Throne Room - A jester's hat is made out of flamboyant colored fabric with bells at the end of three points.
 * Jujube - Eastern Bazaar - Dictionary definition is not the same (a small candy or lozenge with fruit flavoring or a Chinese date) but resembles a slice of cake roll which is cake rolled with a cream filling. Jujubes are two laters ..a jelly type candy layered either a white concotion. Then rolled like a jelly roll and then the outer layer (the colored. Gel layer) rolled ed in sugar before the roll is sliced. There are other types of candies called jujubes which are ( or we're) sold in movie theater concessions. These resemble jelly beans /jelly bellie.
 * Kettle - Japanese Shrine/Tea Corner - A kettle is a type of pot, typically metal, specialized for boiling water, with a lid, spout, and handle.
 * Kimono - Japanese Shrine - A kimono is a loose, wide-sleeved robe, fastened at the waist with a wide sash, characteristic of Japanese costume.
 * Kite - Japanese Shrine - A kite is a tethered heavier-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create lift and drag. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have a bridle and tail to guide the face of the kite so the wind can lift it.
 * Koi - Japanese House - Koi's (fish) are colored varieties of Amur carp that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens.
 * Kokeshi doll - Japanese Shrine - Kokeshi are Japanese dolls, originally from northeastern Japan. They are handmade from wood, have a simple trunk and head with a few thin, painted lines to define the face. The body often has floral and/or ring designs painted in red, black, and sometimes green purple, blue or yellow inks, and covered with a layer of wax. One characteristic of kokeshi dolls is their lack of arms or legs.
 * Kolt - Vikings Village - Kolt or kolty was a part of a female headgear, hanging on a ryasna at both temples as a sign of family's wealth, common in 11th-13th centuries in Old Rus'. It comprised a pair of metal pieces, joined to form a hollow medallion or star that, presumably, contained a piece of cloth, impregnated with fragrances.
 * Lavender - Tea Corner - Lavendula (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae.
 * Liana - Excavations - A woody vine
 * Lock - Forester's Base - A lock is a mechanical fastening device that is released by a physical object such as a key
 * Lorgnette - High Tower - A lorgnette is a pair of spectacles with a handle, used to hold them in place, rather than fitting over the ears or nose
 * Magnifier - Lost Laboratory/Ancient Library/Captain's Cabin - A magnifier is a simple, small magnification device used to see small details more closely. With an handle by opposition to a loupe.
 * Marzipan - Bakery - Is a confection consisting primarily of sugar or honey and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract.
 * Microscope - Lost Laboratory/Ancient Library - A microscope is an optical instrument having a magnifying lens or a combination of lenses for inspecting too small to be seen or too small to be seen distinctly and in detail by the unaided eye.
 * Mortar - Lost Laboratory/Ancient Library - A mortar and pestle is a kitchen implement used since ancient times to prepare ingredients or substances by crushing and grinding them into a fine paste or powder. The mortar is a bowl, typically made of hard wood, metal, ceramic, or hard stone, such as granite. The substance to be ground, which may be wet or dry, is placed in the mortar, where the pestle is pressed and rotated onto it until the desired texture is achieved.
 * Musket - Treasure Island - A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smoothbore long gun.
 * Noh mask - Japanese House - Noh is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama; the lead actor wears a mask which signifies age, gender, and social ranking.
 * Nutcracker - Christmas Eve - A nutcracker a well-known type portrays a person whose mouth forms the jaws of the nutcracker, though many of these are meant for decorative use.
 * Oar - Wigwam/Camping Site - An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. Rowers and canoeists (not kayakers) grasp the oar at the other end.
 * Omamori - Japanese House/Spring Festival - Japanese amulets, charms, or talismans which are said to provide various forms of luck or protection
 * Onigiri - Spring Festival - A Japanese rice ball made from white rice filled with fish or kelp.
 * Origami - Japanese Shrine - Origami is the art of folding paper into beautiful objects.
 * Pacifier - Nursery - A pacifier is a rubber, plastic or silicone nipple given to an infant to suck upon. In its standard appearance it has a teat, mouth shield, and handle.
 * Pail - Bungalow - otherwise known as a Bucket
 * Pan flute - Wigwam/Japanese Shrine - The pan flutes are a group of musical instruments based on the principle of the closed tube, consisting of multiple pipes of gradually increasing length (and occasionally girth). Multiple varieties of pan flutes have long been popular as folk instruments. The pipes are typically made from bamboo, giant cane, or local reeds.
 * Panda - Tea Corner - The giant panda also known as panda bear or simply panda, is a bear native to south central China. It is easily recognized by the large, distinctive black patches around its eyes, over the ears, and across its round body.
 * Penny whistle - Wonder Shop - Also known as a tin whistle, a simple flute with six finger holes
 * Phoenix feather - Lost Laboratory - Associated with the Sun, a phoenix obtains new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor. According to some sources, the phoenix dies in a show of flames and combustion, although there are other sources that claim that the legendary bird dies and simply decomposes before being born again. The feather of that bird.
 * Pilaf - Eastern Bazaar - Rice cooked in a meat or poultry broth
 * Pincushion - Ancient Library - A pincushion is a small, stuffed cushion, which is used in sewing to store pins or needles with their heads protruding to take hold of them easily, collect them, and keep them organized.
 * Plummet - Ancient Library - A plumb bob; a weight attached to a line, used for determining perpendicularity
 * Peony - Tea Corner - The peony or paeony is a flowering plant in the genus Paeonia, the only genus in the family Paeoniacea .
 * Plague doctor mask - Lost Laboratory - A plague doctor was a medical physician who treated people who had the plague. They were specifically hired by towns that had many patients with the plague in times of epidemics. The mask of that doctor.
 * Pointer - Spooky Yard - A person or thing that points, in this case a wooden arrow
 * Pomegranate - Hearts of the Dunes - The pomegranate (Punica granatum) is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree in the family Lythraceae.
 * Primus stove - Lost Laboratory - The Primus stove, made of brass, consists of a fuel tank at the base, above which is a "rising tube" and the burner assembly. A steel top ring on which to set a pot is held above the burner by three support legs.
 * Raven - Vikings Village/Haunted Attraction - The common raven (Corvus corax), also known as the northern raven, is a large all-black passerine bird. Found across the Northern Hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids.
 * Rolling pin - Bakery - A rolling pin is a cylindrical food preparation utensil used to shape and flatten dough.
 * Rompers - Nursery - A rompers is a one-piece combination of shorts and a shirt
 * Saddle - Heart of the Dunes - The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider or other load, fastened to an animal's back by a girth.
 * Salver - Ancient Library - A tray, especially one used for serving food or beverages
 * Samovar - Eastern Bazaar - A metal urn, used especially by Russians for heating water for making tea
 * Samurai helmet - Japanese House - The Samurai Helmet is a large helmet wider than the wearer's shoulders. It has two large, curved, wing-like shapes, one on both sides of the head.
 * Saucepan - Bakery - A saucepan is any type of pan most commonly used for heating sauces and gravies. Saucepans are also made to cook, saute and reheat various foods. They can be shallow or deep and come in various sizes and materials
 * Scales - Bakery - scales are devices to measure weight
 * Sconce - Throne Room - A sconce is a type of light fixture affixed to a wall in such a way that it uses only the wall for support, and the light is usually directed upwards, but not always.
 * Shackles - Ghost Town/Saloon - Shackles are something (such as a manacle or fetter) that confines the legs or arms.
 * Sheriff's star - Ghost Town - Sheriff's stars are badges, typically star-shaped, as opposed to the more shield-like badges of other law enforcement such as police officers.
 * Ship in a bottle - Ancient Library - A ship in a bottle was an old form of maritime art.
 * Shuriken star - Japanese House - A shuriken star is a Japanese throwing weapon .Shuriken are commonly known in the West as throwing stars or ninja stars.
 * Sieve - Bakery/Forest House - A sieve is a device for separating wanted elements from unwanted material or for characterizing the particle size distribution of a sample, typically using a woven screen such as a mesh or net or metal
 * Snowdrops - Wonder Shop - Plant with drooping white flowers and green markings
 * Snow globe - Christmas Eve/Polar Station/Secret Mailroom - A snow globe is a transparent sphere, traditionally made of glass, enclosing a miniaturized scene of some sort, often together with a model of a town, landscape or figure. The sphere also encloses the water in the globe; the water serves as the medium through which the "snow" falls. To activate the snow, the globe is shaken to churn up the white particles.
 * Spatula - Bakery/Tea Corner - A spatula is "a broad, flat, flexible blade used to mix, spread and lift material
 * Spinning top - Nursery/Christmas Eve - A spinning top is a toy designed to spin rapidly on the ground, the motion of which causes it to remain precisely balanced on its tip because of its rotational inertia.
 * Spyglass - Treasure Island/Ancient Library - A spyglass is a hand-held telescope for terrestrial and maritime observation.
 * Starfish - Treasure Island - Starfish are marine invertebrates. They typically have a central disc and five arms, though some species have a larger number of arms.
 * Stick horse - Flower Shop - A stick horse is an imitation horse's head on one end of a stick.
 * Stocking - Wonder Shop - A Christmas stocking is an empty sock or sock-shaped bag that is hung on Christmas Eve so that Santa Claus (or Father Christmas) can fill it with small toys, candy, fruit, coins or other small gifts when he arrives.
 * Tarot card - Lost Laboratory - The tarot  is a pack of playing cards, used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play games such as Italian tarocchini and French tarot. In the late 18th century, it began to be used for divination in the form of tarotology and cartomancy.
 * Thermometer / Mountain Resort / A thermometer is a device that measures temperature or a temperature gradient.
 * Thunderbird - Wigwam - The thunderbird is a legendary creature in certain North American indigenous peoples' history and culture. It is considered a supernatural being of power and strength.
 * Tofu - Tea Corner - Tofu, also known as bean curd, is a food cultivated by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks.
 * Tomahawk - Wigwam - A tomahawk is a type of single-handed ax from North America, traditionally resembling a hatchet with a straight shaft.
 * Tomoe - Japanese Shrine - The tomoe is a common design element in Japanese family emblems and corporate logos, particularly in the set of triplicate whorls.
 * Tomtit - Christmas Eve - Also known as a titmouse, it is a small songbird with soft, thick plumage and a short, stout, conical bill
 * Totem - Excavations - A totem is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe.
 * Turban - Heart of the Dunes/Buddha's Square - A turban is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by men of various countries.
 * Turkish coffee pot - Eastern Bazaar - Also known as a cezve, it is a pot in which to make and serve Turkish coffee (unfiltered coffee); the pot has a long handle and brim spout
 * Ushanka hat - Mountain Resort - Informally known as a "Russian hat", it is a fur cap with ear flaps that can be tied up to the crown of the cap, or fastened at the chin to protect the ears, jaw and lower chin from the cold
 * Vacuum flask - Mountain Resort/Forester's Base - A thermos
 * Walkie-talkie - Forester's Base - A walkie-talkie is a communication device that is a hand-held, portable, two-way radio transceiver
 * Weather vane - Vikings Village/Mill/Spooky Yard - A weather vane, wind vane, or weathercock is an instrument for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building
 * Whisk - Bakery - A whisk is a cooking utensil which can be used to blend ingredients smooth or to incorporate air into a mixture. Most whisks consist of a long, narrow handle with a series of wire loops joined at the end
 * Wind chime / Mountain Resort / Wind chimes are a type of percussion instrument constructed from suspended tubes, rods, bells or other objects that are often made of metal or wood.
 * Wineskin - Wigwam/Vikings Village- A bag that is made from the skin of an animal (such as a goat) and that is used for holding wine and other liquids.
 * Wreath - Wonder Shop/Mill - A wreath is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to resemble a ring. Wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, mainly as an Advent and Christmas decoration.
 * Yin-yang symbol - Japanese House - The yin-yang symbol is most widely applied to the He tu symbol which combines the two interlocking spirals with two dots. In the standard form of the contemporary "yin-yang symbol", one draws on the diameter of a circle two non-overlapping circles each of which has a diameter equal to the radius of the outer circle.
 * Zephyrs - Tree of Dates - A Russian dessert delicacy made of flavoured meringue. Named after a "zephyr", which is a light breeze.
 * Zurna - Eastern Bazaar - A woodwind instrument with eight holes on the front and one thumbhole

This page has been created and extracted from the abbreviations page.