snob + -ery → snobbery

Sometimes actors set props on the spikes, or sometimes a deckhand will do it, depending on the action of the play.

As he talked, slowly, quietly, I had the impression that it must surely be an accident that had happened, but that his mind, unhinged by tragedy, baulked at Anna’s death.

Until he comes to terms with the likelihood of failure, he will not succeed.