Posted on Oct 15, 2015
How have America’s Wars Changed The English Language?
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http://taskandpurpose.com/how-americas-wars-have-changed-the-english-language/
RP Members here is anothewr one of those posts/questions that got lost over time in RallyPoint, but it was good one worth sharing again!
What are some the words or phrases that have been coined while you served in the combat zone or during the past wars?
Throughout history, American speech has adopted thousands of soldier-coined slang into everyday language.
However unintentionally, soldiers have become architectures of language and profound agents of change throughout history.
Words are paltry things even when compared to peaceful, everyday human experience, and war words are often invented to describe things that are brutally indescribable, bring humor to things that are not funny, and create designations for things that are otherwise unidentifiable.
RP Members here is anothewr one of those posts/questions that got lost over time in RallyPoint, but it was good one worth sharing again!
What are some the words or phrases that have been coined while you served in the combat zone or during the past wars?
Throughout history, American speech has adopted thousands of soldier-coined slang into everyday language.
However unintentionally, soldiers have become architectures of language and profound agents of change throughout history.
Words are paltry things even when compared to peaceful, everyday human experience, and war words are often invented to describe things that are brutally indescribable, bring humor to things that are not funny, and create designations for things that are otherwise unidentifiable.
Warfare
Freedom of Speech
Languages
Humor
Military History
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 53
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I was a Carrier Sailor, and the one thing I recall, is bad luck being called Air Breaks, or more completely, "That's the breaks of Naval Air." Leave request denied, Air Breaks; nabbed by Shore Patrol, Air Breaks. dinged at Inspection.....
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If we go back a number of years, we have “Lock, Stock, & Barrel” meaning the entire firearm consisting of the wooden stock, barrel, and flint lock. It has come to mean everything included.
“Don’t be a flash in the pan” referred to a flintlock musket where the firing cap ignited gun powder in the pan but it didn’t result in firing the projectile.
“Don’t go off half-cocked” came from the half-cock position which would not allow the weapon to be fired.
“GI” originally meant Government Issue but has become synonymous with soldiers.
“Jeep”, I believe, came from General Purpose, abbreviated as GP.
“Don’t be a flash in the pan” referred to a flintlock musket where the firing cap ignited gun powder in the pan but it didn’t result in firing the projectile.
“Don’t go off half-cocked” came from the half-cock position which would not allow the weapon to be fired.
“GI” originally meant Government Issue but has become synonymous with soldiers.
“Jeep”, I believe, came from General Purpose, abbreviated as GP.
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Terms used strictly by military or veterans now widely used by others. For instance fubar, the suck and the struggle is real
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The word "Chushy" came from an Indian word "Kush" in World War One. Men going to the front would pass the troops they were relieving and ask them what it was like? The answer was that it was "Chushy."
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