surface snorting

surface snorting
 n.— «Scores of Sydneysiders woke to the sight of thick white smoke coming from a Collins-class submarine off Sydney’s northern beaches this morning, but their fears of a fire were unfounded—it was just the ageing sub’s batteries recharging.…A Defence Department spokeswoman said the smoke was not the result of a fire or terrorist attack, but a standard procedure called surface snorting. “Surface snorting is a standard operation.”» —“Snort what they thought it was” by Paul Bibby Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) Jan. 25, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

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