creeping vbl n OED ~ 4 (1886). Dragging the sea bottom with a grapnel or 'creeper' to recover a lost object; attrib creeping gear.
   1895 GRENFELL 169 Sometimes the buoys [of seal nets] are under the ice, and the process known as 'creeping' has to be undertaken to find the nets at all, for it will not do to lose these most valuable possessions... Often hours may be spent 'creeping.' P 90-69 ~ dragging the ocean bottom with a hook for the body of a person drowned. 1971 CHIARAMONTE 36 When a man loses his gear, he hauls a small grapple-type anchor across the ocean floor attempting to hook the grapple on the line of his gear. This is called 'creeping.' 1976 Evening Telegram 27 Mar, p. 4 Various types of creeping gear were designed and used during the operation and these devices were dragged over the sea bottom in areas where 'ghost nets' were suspected to be located.

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