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Is there a word or term to describe "persons, hazards, valuables, and/or features of interest" in the context of thievery/spycraft?

English Language & Usage Asked on August 27, 2021

I’m writing a fiction piece where a thief (of sorts) is being “shown the ropes” by a more experienced peer. One of the instructor’s primary goals is to instill an awareness of all the elements of a room/building/etc. pertinent to thievery or spycraft: occupants, guards, points of access, shadowy corners, hazards, sensors, squeaky boards, valuables, supplies accessible in an emergency, etc.–generally anything that a covert infiltrator would want to be aware of.

To describe this concept, the instructor uses a word. I’ve been using the made-up word environmentals (n.) since this particular story has no shortage of made-up words for extremely elaborate concepts with no English descriptors. The word is used frequently enough in the fictional setting that it would certainly be a single word or two-word expression. For example, a conversation might go:

“What were the environmentals in the foyer?”
“Two officers at the desk. No windows. Echoic marble floor. Three spaces not visible from the desk. Maybe some keys in the desk.”
“Okay. And what will the environmentals be at 3 PM?”
“The same. I don’t know. Why do I even care about the environmentals?”

I prefer to use recognized English terms (even slang ones) when close matches are available. In this case, neither the words features, hazards, nor any of the synonyms for features on thesaurus.com fit the bill, either because they’re too broad, they have ambiguous meanings, or they don’t refer to everything in the aforementioned list.

It occurs to me, however, that literature on military tactics, spycraft, covert infiltration, etc. might possibly use an accepted word/term with this specific meaning. Even if it’s jargon, using it rather than making up my own word seems prudent.

A compound word would be acceptable. A phrase would not.

I’m not hopeful, but I figured I’d ask.

One Answer

I would use the singular word "situation."

"What was the situation in the foyer..."

Answered by John S. Rundin on August 27, 2021

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