There is clearly a civil/military difference here.
As a miltary pilot I have heard the term frequently, from militrary controllers. My reaction has always been that which was taught to me some years ago in the Vale of York, ie a turn at normal rate, but initiated promptly, and before acknowledging the call (a guaranteed way to fail the sortie in normal circumstances). In those days the airspace in that area was somewhat busier than today, and the term was normally heard more than once a sortie when instrument-flying.
If civil controllers mean something more dramatic then it should be publicised very clearly.