In the oil drilling industry there is a term called "spudding." What is it and how does it work?
To spud comes from the Middle English word, "spudde" meaning a short knife. In oil drilling "spudding" means the very start of drilling on a new well. Check out Infoplease's oil spill glossary, written after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill. In addition, the American Petroleum Institute offers the following definitions using the word spud:
—The Fact Monster