Chalkfaces

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of rock formation characterized by having prominent chalk layers that may appear white or light-colored
2. Describing geographical features that have chalk as a predominant component, often seen in cliffs or hills
3. Referring to formations or landscapes where chalk is the primary material, creating distinct visual characteristics

Etymology: Most people meet this word in classrooms, where "chalkfaces" means the teachers themselves, the people doing the real work at the front of the room. It is a play on "coalface," the place where miners do the hard, practical labour at the seam. Ted Wragg is believed to have coined the joke in his column for the Times Educational Supplement, swapping the coal for the chalk on school blackboards. The older, literal sense is simpler. It is the plural of "chalkface," a compound of chalk and face, and it refers to the exposed white faces of chalk cliffs, such as those along the English coast.