Mining. Sc. [Of obscure origin.] (See quots.)
1880. J. Nicol, Poems & Songs, 75. They [sc. the miners] come To their daily task With powder flask And tinder, straw, and strum.
1886. J. Barrowman, Sc. Mining Terms, 65. Strum, safety fuse.
1895. N. B. Daily Mail, 13 Nov., 5. The explosion … is supposed to have been caused by some careless miner leaving a ball of ‘strum,’ an explosive material used by them in the pits, in the vicinity of the fire.
1911. Daily News, 3 April, 5. A piece of miners’ ‘strum’ for blasting operations was also found.
