Abominable Snowman

Another term for Yeti, a large ape-like creature said to inhabit areas of the Himalayas.

The phrase abominable snowman was coined in 1921 after Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Howard-Bury led the Royal Geographical Society's "Everest Reconnaissance Expedition". During the expedition, footprints were discovered that Sherpas attributed to "metoh-kangmi" (man-bear/snowman).

Reporter Henry Newman later interviewed members of the expedition team and apparently mistranslated "metoh" as "dirty", but substituted the word "abominable". The name stuck and became the dominant term for Yeti for many decades, until the term "Yeti" became popular.

For more information about the creature see Yeti.

Note: The North American version is the Bigfoot (AKA Sasquatch).