Straight to the Point: What Are Those Spiked Boots? — The Nature Conservancy in Washington
Anyone who has visited a working forest like our Ellsworth Creek Preserve has likely seen field staff shod with a peculiar piece of footwear called caulks, which are oddly pronounced "cork. These spike-soled boots are an important, and in some cases legally required, piece of a woods worker's personal protective equipment that have been in use for many years. Iterations of the design date back to the Roman empire — legionnaires wore caligae, a hob-nailed sandal. But the real question is: How should I spell it? And how should I pronounce it?