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I read a sentence in the chapter "Journey to the end of Earth" which was:

So there we were, all 52 of us, kitted out in Gore-tax and glares, waking on stark whiteness that seemed to spread out forever.

I could not find any definition of noun "glare" that would fit into this context.

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  • I haven't seen this usage before, but Gore-Tex (not Gore-tax) refers to clothing material suitable for extremely cold environments. So presumably the "stark whiteness" is snow / ice, and the "glares" are dark/reflective glasses / goggles worn to protect against snow blindness in the context of an Arctic expedition.
    – FumbleFingers
    May 20, 2019 at 12:30
  • I would assume that "Gore-tax" is the authors' way of avoiding the actual brand name in their novel.
    – geekahedron
    May 20, 2019 at 12:47
  • @geekahedron: Nah. No-one would be likely to do that anyway, but here's a link to the "source", showing that OP has simply mistranscribed it.
    – FumbleFingers
    May 20, 2019 at 13:00

2 Answers 2

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Note: I changed priorities after reading the text again:

Most likely, it refers to the sunglasses they might be wearing, to protect their vision from damage, due to the strong light.

It might also refer (theoretically) to the frowns of the people, as a result of the bright white reflections of light from the snow. But this explanation does not fit either with "kitted", or with "Gore-tex", so this meaning should be ignored in this context.

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    Nah. I don't think glare = frown is remotely relevant to the context. But your second suggestion hits the mark.
    – FumbleFingers
    May 20, 2019 at 12:32
  • I read the text again, you are more right then I was. However, I still think that he meaning is 100% guaranteed.
    – virolino
    May 20, 2019 at 12:39
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    Well, now you've demoted that irrelevant interpretation to second place, I've removed my downvote. But because it's still present, I won't go so far as to upvote.
    – FumbleFingers
    May 20, 2019 at 12:57
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    Yeah, well, I might be harsh, but at least I'm fair (it's harsh treatment for everyone, not just you! :) So I won't be upvoting the other answer here either, since it also raises that irrelevant interpretation (and raises the erroneous possibility that glares might actually refer to the ambient light rather than protective eyewear).
    – FumbleFingers
    May 20, 2019 at 13:28
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    Is it not that "kitted up" limits the meaning of "glares" to sunglasses? Even in a novel? If you type "glare" in Google images, you get only sunglasses.
    – Jan
    May 20, 2019 at 13:50
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"Kitted out" refers to what they were wearing. Similarly to "shades" being used as a term for sunglasses, "glares" refers to protective eyewear that is designed for much harsher light (short for "anti-glare glasses").

Edit: This is a usage of the word I had never heard before, and had to search quite a bit to find any other references to "glares" meaning eyewear. That is certainly the case here, though, and I've removed my alternative suggestions to avoid confusion.

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