The Stars and Stripes, Vol. 1, No. 1, February 8, 1918: The American Soldiers' Newspaper of World War I, 1918-1919United States. Army. American Expeditionary Forces
History
The Stars and Stripes, Vol. 1, No. 1, February 8, 1918: The American Soldiers' Newspaper of World War I, 1918-1919
United States. Army. American Expeditionary Forces
World War, 1914-1918 -- Periodicals; World War, 1914-1918 -- United States -- Periodicals
DUD.--A negative term signifying useless, ineffective or worthless,
e.g., a "dud" egg; a "dud of a girl" is one who is unattractive; and a
dud joke falls flat.
DUGOUT.--A deep recess in the earth usually too small. As an adjective
it is used to denote that such a one avoids hopping over the bags, or,
indeed, venturing out into the open air in a trench. At times the word
is used to denote antiquated relics employed temporarily.
HOME.--The place or places where Billzac would fain be when the job is
done. Also known as "Our Land" and "Happyland."
HOPOVER.--A departure from a fixed point into the Unknown, also the
first step in a serious undertaking.
IMSHI.--Means "go," "get out quickly." Used by the speaker, the word
implies quick and noiseless movement in the opposite direction to the
advance.
LEAVE.--A state or condition of ease, comfort and pleasure, involving
the cessation of work: not to be confounded with sick leave. Time is
measured by leaves denoting intervals of from three months to three
years. Leave on the other hand is measured by time, usually too short.
MUD.--Unpleasantness, generally connected with delay, danger or extreme
discomfort. Hence a special meaning of baseness in "his name is mud."
OVER THE BAGS.--The intensive form of danger: denoting a test of fitness
and experience for Billzac and his brethren.
RELIEF.--A slow process of changing places; occurs in Shakespeare: "for
this relief many thanks."
REST.--A mythical period between being relieved and relieving in the
trenches, which is usually spent in walking away from the line and
returning straight back in poor weather and at short notice.
SALVAGE.--To rescue unused property and make use of it. The word is also
used of the property rescued. Property salvaged in the presence of the
owner leads to trouble and is not done by an expert.
SOUVENIR.--Is generally used in the same sense as salvage but of small,
easily portable articles. Coal or firewood for instance, is salvaged at
night, but an electric torch would be souvenired.
STUNT.--A successful enterprise or undertaking usually involving
surprise. A large scale stunt lacks the latter and is termed a "push",
and the element of success is not essential.
TRENCHES.--Long narrow excavations in earth or chalk, sometimes filled
with mud containing soldiers, bits of soldiers, salvage and alleged
shelters.
WIND UP.--An aerated condition of mind due to apprehension as to what
may happen next, in some cases amounting to an incurable disease closely
allied to "cold feet."
ZERO.--A convenient way of expressing an indefinite time or date, i.e.,
will meet you at zero; call me at zero plus 30; or, to a debt collector,
pay day at zero.--_Aussie_, the Australian Soldiers' Magazine.
----
OUR OWN HORSE MARINES.
----
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account