I forgot to add "Mud Slingers" and "Green Apple" too. [ 09 March 2002: Message edited by: C.Evans ] [ 09 March 2002: Message edited by: C.Evans ]</p>
Book and Grounded! When I was I kid, if we had to leave early, or in a hurry, we said "I gotta book" That came from pilots signing a log book before they left or something. I had a B-17 pilot tell me that years ago. Grounded - you know, when your folk ground you, it came from pilots being grounded.
Anyone ever hear of BOHICA - bend over, here it comes again? I heard that was WWII but might be modern.
How about more common ones like: Scuttlebutt = Rumor has it..... "The whole nine yards" which was a phrase used by men in the US NAvy. The whole nine yards was from: "Give then the whole nine yards" meaning that the whole nine yards was the length of the MG ammo belts that is fed into a fighter plane. The entire belt should be used against some certain target.
It's interesting. I use all of these phrases quite regularly, with the exception of some of the most vulgar ones and the ones that involve swears. And I hope that no one will ever be able to describe any of my military family members as FUBAR.
Jerry dates from WW2, but Tommy dates from the late 19th century, supposedly because British army literature cited a fictional Tommy Atkins as a sample soldier. The soubriquet was popularised by Rudyard Kipling, who flourished well before WW1, let alone WW2.