What is "chalk"

Chalk \Chalk\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Chalked; p. pr. & vb. n. Chalking.]

1. To rub or mark with chalk.

2. To manure with chalk, as land.
   --Morimer.

3. To make white, as with chalk; to make pale; to bleach.
   --Tennyson.

   Let a bleak paleness chalk the door.
   --Herbert.

   To chalk out, to sketch with, or as with, chalk; to outline; to indicate; to plan. [Colloq.] ``I shall pursue the plan I have chalked out.''
   --Burke.

Chalk \Chalk\ (ch[add]k), n. [AS. cealc lime, from L. calx limestone. See Calz, and Cawk.]

1. (Min.) A soft, earthy substance, of a white, grayish, or yellowish white color, consisting of calcium carbonate, and having the same composition as common limestone.

2. (Fine Arts) Finely prepared chalk, used as a drawing implement; also, by extension, a compound, as of clay and black lead, or the like, used in the same manner. See Crayon.

   Black chalk, a mineral of a bluish color, of a slaty texture, and soiling the fingers when handled; a variety of argillaceous slate.

   By a long chalk, by a long way; by many degrees. [Slang]
   --Lowell.

   Chalk drawing (Fine Arts), a drawing made with crayons. See Crayon.

   Chalk formation. See Cretaceous formation, under Cretaceous.

   Chalk line, a cord rubbed with chalk, used for making straight lines on boards or other material, as a guide in cutting or in arranging work.

   Chalk mixture, a preparation of chalk, cinnamon, and sugar in gum water, much used in diarrheal affection, esp. of infants.

   Chalk period. (Geol.) See Cretaceous period, under Cretaceous.

   Chalk pit, a pit in which chalk is dug.

   Drawing chalk. See Crayon, n., 1.

   French chalk, steatite or soapstone, a soft magnesian mineral.

   Red chalk, an indurated clayey ocher containing iron, and used by painters and artificers; reddle.

Old English cealc "chalk, lime, plaster; pebble," a West Germanic borrowing from Latin calx (2) "limestone, lime (crushed limestone), small stone," from Greek khalix "small pebble," which many trace to a PIE root for "split, break up." In most Germanic languages still with the "limestone" sense, but in English transferred to the opaque, white, soft limestone found abundantly in the south of the island. Modern spelling is from early 14c. The Latin word for "chalk" was creta, which also is of unknown origin.

1570s, "to mix with chalk;" 1590s as "to mark with chalk," from chalk (n.). Related: Chalked; chalking. Old English had cealcian "to whiten." Certain chalk marks on shipped objects meant "admitted" or "shipped free," hence some figurative senses. Chalk boards also were commonly used in keeping credit, score, etc., hence figurative use of chalk it up (1903).

n. 1 (context uncountable English) A soft, white, powdery limestone. 2 (context countable English) A piece of chalk, or, more often, processed compressed chalk, that is used for drawing and for writing on a blackboard. 3 tailor's chalk. 4 (context uncountable climbing English) A white powdery substance used to prevent hands slipping from holds when climbing, sometimes but not always limestone-chalk. 5 (context US military countable English) A platoon-sized group of airborne soldiers. 6 (context US sports chiefly basketball English) The prediction that there will be no upsets, and the favored competitor will win. vb. 1 To apply chalk to anything, such as the tip of a billiard cue. 2 To record something, as on a blackboard, using chalk. 3 To use powdered chalk to mark the lines on a playing field. 4 (context figuratively English) To record a score or event, as if on a chalkboard. 5 To manure (land) with chalk. 6 To make white, as if with chalk; to make pale; to bleach.

v. write, draw, or trace with chalk

1. n. a soft whitish calcite

2. a pure flat white with little reflectance

3. amphetamine used in the form of a crystalline hydrochloride; used as a stimulant to the nervous system and as an appetite suppressant [syn: methamphetamine, methamphetamine hydrochloride, Methedrine, meth, deoxyephedrine, chicken feed, crank, glass, ice, shabu, trash]

4. a piece of chalk (or similar substance) used for writing on blackboards or other surfaces

Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary carbonate rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite shells ( coccoliths) shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores. Flint (a type of chert unique to chalk) is very common as bands parallel to the bedding or as nodules embedded in chalk. It is probably derived from sponge spicules or other siliceous organisms as water is expelled upwards during compaction. Flint is often deposited around larger fossils such as Echinoidea which may be silicified (i.e. replaced molecule by molecule by flint).

Chalk as seen in Cretaceous deposits of Western Europe is unusual among sedimentary limestones in the thickness of the beds. Most cliffs of chalk have very few obvious bedding planes unlike most thick sequences of limestone such as the Carboniferous Limestone or the Jurassic oolitic limestones. This presumably indicates very stable conditions over tens of millions of years.

Chalk has greater resistance to weathering and slumping than the clays with which it is usually associated, thus forming tall steep cliffs where chalk ridges meet the sea. Chalk hills, known as chalk downland, usually form where bands of chalk reach the surface at an angle, so forming a scarp slope. Because chalk is well jointed it can hold a large volume of ground water, providing a natural reservoir that releases water slowly through dry seasons.

Chalk is a British television sitcom set in a comprehensive school named Galfast High. Two series, both written by Steven Moffat, were broadcast on BBC1 in 1997. Like Moffat's earlier sitcom Joking Apart, Chalk was produced by Andre Ptaszynski for Pola Jones.

The series focuses upon deputy headteacher Eric Slatt ( David Bamber), permanently stressed over the chaos he creates both by himself and some of his eccentric staff. His wife Janet ( Geraldine Fitzgerald) and new English teacher Suzy Travis ( Nicola Walker) attempt to help him solve the problems.

Because of the very good reaction of the studio audience, a second series was commissioned before the first had been broadcast. However, journalists were critical of the show, highlighting stylistic similarities to Fawlty Towers. Some members of the teaching profession and its unions objected to the negative representation of teachers and the comprehensive system. The second series did not receive a stable broadcast slot, with many episodes aired after 10pm. The first series was released on DVD in December 2008.

Chalk may refer to:

• Chalk, a type of sedimentary rock, composed predominantly of calcium carbonate.
• The Chalk Group, a stratigraphic unit in northwest Europe.
• Blackboard chalk and sidewalk chalk, a material used for writing and art, usually composed of calcium sulfate or calcium carbonate.
• Chalk (drying agent), magnesium carbonate, used for hands in rock climbing, gymnastics, and weight lifting
• Chalk, Kent, a village in England
• Chalk (TV series), a BBC sitcom written by Steven Moffat
• Chalk (film), 2006 movie
• Chalk (military), refers to a specific aircraft load
• Billiard chalk, a silica and corundum compound applied to the tip of a cue
• French chalk, or talc, magnesium silicate, usually as a powder or in sticks

In military terminology, a chalk is a group of paratroopers or other soldiers that deploy from a single aircraft. A chalk often corresponds to a platoon-sized unit for air assault operations, or a company-minus-sized organization for airborne operations. For air transport operations, it can consist of up to a company-plus-sized unit. Oftentimes, a load of paratroopers in one aircraft, prepared for a drop, is also referred to as a stick.

The term was first coined in World War II for airborne troops during Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Europe. The aircraft flight number was placed on the troops' backs with chalk. It was later used during the Vietnam War, when it was common practice to number with chalk the sides of the helicopters involved in an operation. During the Battle of Mogadishu (1993), the battle plan called for four chalks from the 75th Ranger Regiment to fast rope down from hovering MH-60L Black Hawk helicopters around the target building. The rangers would then create a four-corner defensive perimeter. The plan failed as two of the Black Hawks were shot down, and the assault turned into a forced evacuation.

Current military terminology a "chalk" may mean either passengers or equipment loaded as cargo. Equipment is loaded in the order it will be needed on arrival. It is not uncommon for planners to refer to aircraft loads by their chalk number, "You are in chalk 5 but your gear will be shipped in chalk 2."

Category:Military slang and jargon

Chalk is a 2006 comedy mockumentary about teaching focusing on the lives of three teachers and one assistant principal. It stars Chris Mass as Mr. Stroope and Troy Schremmer as Mr. Lowrey. It is directed by Mike Akel. The movie is based on both Akel's and Mass' real life experiences in the teaching profession. Co-written by Mass and Akel, the film was developed through improvisation all the way through the process, from writing through production and post-production. The final film was edited together from more than 60 hours of footage.

The film premiered in March, 2006 at the "Cinequest Film Festival", presented in April 2006 at the "Boston Independent Film Festival", and released in Los Angeles on May 11, 2007, playing at the Nuart Theatre and in more cities in subsequent weeks. The film begins by stating that 50 percent of teachers quit within their first three years on the job.

The film has received a mostly positive response from critics regarding it as an antithesis to the more common inspirational teacher movies. LA Weekly in its review stated to think of it as "To Sir, With Sarcasm.". Teachers who saw the film noted how the film "nailed" the experiences of a new teacher.