British Military and American Jargon

[FEBA]

Right; any Brown Jobs out there; I've got a complaint.
I was watching a video last night , President Blair was in Iraq saying thanks to the sqaudies, nothing wrong so far.
The sqaudies then put on a show for him that involved blowing up some ordinance. Prior to the explosion a soldier called out a warning " Fire in the hole"
Where did that blatant bit of Americanism come from then and who told him to say it.
Any top brass reading this can you please get this stopped, God almighty we'll be giving troops in the field Coca Cola next (Yanks stopped an exercise in Greece for this very reason once)

[S76Heavy]

Just as I have seen non-US military personnell sporting US style rank insignia, presumably because the US military could not be bothered to learn to identify other countries' rank insignia? Or was it all for the benefit of CNN:}

[wessex19]

General Peter Cosgrove, Chief of the Australian Defence Force wore for stars!!! I suspect its because the Americans do not have the knack of understanding their "allies" rank structure. Whats next, turning a Corporals stripes upside down so GI Joe knows whether to salute or not!!!

[BEagle]

I notice that the following are creeping in:

"When you do the math"

"You'll have the hammer on that" (WTF does that mean?)

Plus the Americanizations-wordwize (creeping use of zeds, sorry, zees instead of esses, you'll note) used by those who've been on exchange tours.

[Scud-U-Like]

I'm tempted to ask, "So what?". We use non-British-English phrases (French, Latin et al ) all the time, so why the fuss about Americanisms? Certain Americanisms are more punchy and apt than their British-English equivalents and it is easy to see how they have crept into our military parlance.

Other phrases, such as those pointed out by Beagle (above), have no 'short-hand' value and simply sound ridiculous when uttered without the American drawl (and sometimes with it). Still, it's hardly worth getting one's knickers in a twist over. I find far more annoying some of the (home grown) management speak, that seems to spread, like a lingual virus, from the Purple Learning Centre.

[BEagle]

Ah yes - PLC pratt-chat:

"I hear what you say" = Say what you like, I'll do bug.ger all to help.

"I opine that this is not germane to the issue" = This is bolleaux

"Deep blue water thought" = (Means nothing but sounds as though it should)

"Nugatory effort"= Waste of time

Then there was the Latin era. All of a sudden 'inter alia' kept cropping up in purple-prose. But there's nothing better than making up a few of your own to confuse the opposition:

"Ob has causas" = Because of what I've just said.
"His verbis dictis, autem" = Having said that, however.
"Porcovolant comment!" = Pigs will fly first.


Any more examples of stupid PLC prose - or revenge?

[jack_k]

What about altimeter pronounced the american way....."al-tim-meter" instead of the correct English "alt-ti-metre"...that really grips me....in fact, it grips me so much that I am not sure as to whether I have the right spelling.
Other jargon which pisssses me off
"robust" - the senior officers way of preventing any further argument.
"granularity" meaning detail- I think this is a new PJHQ craze
"austere" which clearly means doing things on the cheap and thus one step closer to the coveted OBE
"overarching and underpinning" whatever they mean
Bah!

[sellout]

:mad: We have to de-encouragize this prepesitizing for de-un-americanizationing.

[Lu Zuckerman]

I guess I just read the intro wrong. I thought this thread was about the unintelligible phraseology used by the Brits and totally not understandable by the Americans and others of the non-British persuasion. I believe that many of the posts on these threads should have sub-titles so the guys and gals on this side of the pond understand what it is you are saying.

:confused:

[whowhenwhy]

Ahhhh, but BEagle, as all those poor unfortunates who are going through the Purple Learning Centres' idiotic 'let's learn English and writing the hard way' course will tell you, all those ize words should be spelt like that! The spam spelling is to use an 's' apparently. BOL**CKS! I give it 2 years before the disastrous results of President Blairs education system reforms hit home and those lovely people at Shriv realise that not only have people not got a clue how to conjugate the past-tense of the verb, they can't even spell verb. Ahhh, the wonders of a modern education. Standards have not slipped! We just expect them to learn less, spell and write correctly less, oh, and ask them much simpler questions than we ever used to! Hold on everyone, the most reviled course in christendom, nay the Universe, is coming to an end

[FEBA]

The curse of the english language is the spell checker with their blo*dy Z's instead of S's. It took me ages to restore words with s instead of z. Some at work think I'm crasy!
I have a Chief Pilot who keeps using robust in every sentence, Kids, sorry I mean children, who after years of Sesame Street abuse (well we had to shut them up somehow) now say Zee when it should be Zed.
We've got one of the richest languages in the world with plenty of words nicked from other peoples dialect after they invited us to invade their country and stay for a while; Khaki, camoflage, buckshee, pyjama etc etc do we really need holywood hard man phrases "go ahead punk" motherf**ker, butt. No I don't think so.
Boeing check list B727 after flap retraction required the NFP to call "Clean machine" not english is it.
So top Army Brass get rid of the americanisms please
Thanks
FEBA

[SASless]

Ha-Rumph! I say! Must be some of that American blood coming out in you.....dare say we might have left a robust contribution to the English gene pool during WWII. I notice more Budweiser beer in coolers behind the bars nowadays.....what with Mickey D's showing up on all the corners and Wimpy's gone bust.....who knows you will be watching reruns of Dallas, sipping your Pepsi's , and driving your Fords. Next thing you know it will be leisure suits, check trousers and plaid polysester shirts. We are cousins in more ways than one as I see it!

But then....American culture always was a bit coarse....cannot expect much from a race of people who make saltwater tea.

[Check 6]

FEBA, we have been using your English for 400 plus years, so fair is fair.

:) :) :)

[laidbak]

I checked this thread thinking it would be fun- both the Americans and the Brits contribute some good slang. Having left the military some time ago, I'm not au courant with current usage.
There's a difference between diplo/beaurato-speak, which I agree is infuriating- call a spade a shovel.
Nota bene : Since Boeing made the 727, perhaps it's understandable that they would use colonial english ; maybe you think 'clean (up) machine' should be expanded...

In any case, F.I.D.O.

[Archimedes]

As one of the people sentenced to a long term of incarceration at said establishment...

I hear what you say" = Say what you like, I'll do bug.ger all to help.

I fear that you've not been issued with the latest MoD guide ''Circumscribing Interlocution" BEags. 'I hear what you say' now means 'Well thank you for that view, which I shall totally ignore. Kindly fcuk off.'

"Deep blue water thought" = (Means nothing but sounds as though it should)

Also joined by 'sky blue thinking'. I discovered that this is not a reference to Coventry City FC, but the new way of saying 'thinking about the future'.

'Don't be content with the low hanging fruit'

I have no idea what this really means, although it is apparently something to do with the depth of analysis applied.

'We must re-vector our outlook' = Things have gone to ratsh*t. Time for Plan B'

'The complexity and ambiguities prevelant in today's security environment mean that it is necessary to refocus our strategic vectors' = I have no idea what our future strategy should be.

'Welcome to week 39' = Ha! Still another month to go, you poor b@st@rds! [add manic laugh].

There have been others, but I've thankfully managed to purge them from my memory.

[Surditas]

Like a few others, I thought this thread would be about "leff-tennant" vs "loo-tennant" etc. Instead, it's the old "our English is better than your English" thing. Everyone knows it is we Aussies who speak the best English in the world.
:p
Seriously though, the reason English has been around for so long and is spoken by so many people as a first or second language is because it is so adaptable. For approx the last thousand years people have been saying "the language is going downhill because of the vikings/Danes/Normans/Americans and we have to stop it". To date the success rate of such plans has been zero. It's just how the language is.
English doesn't belong to the SE corner of England. It belongs to everyone who speaks it, whether they are in London, Belfast, New York, Delhi, Cape Town, Sydney, Wellington, Cairo, Tel Aviv or Rio de Janero.

[BlueWolf]

Well said Surditas.

Language is a living, evolving thing. It moves like the river of life which supports it, ebbing and flowing like the tides of the peoples and societies who use it, as they rise and fade in the great wash we call humanity.

New words are born into living languages, old ones die, others change meanings or take on additional nuances.

Some languages, by virtue of their scope, adaptability, precision, and sheer melody, spread and flourish to reflect the vigour of those who call them their native tongue.

English is one such language, as was Latin in a bygone age.

Like any living thing, true appreciation of the inner beauty of language cannot be found by mourning the passing of any of its developmental stages. Instead, give thanks perhaps that such ever was.

Words, An Illustrated History of Western Languages, by Victor Stevenson, (doesn't seem to have an ISBN number anywhere) Copyright 1983 Edison/Sadd Editions Ltd, is a fascinating read on the subject.

Now if only people could learn to speak it properly....
;)

[jungly]

I recently purchased MS Office XP. During the start up thingy it asked me to choose my language.

'German' was accompanied by a nice little German flag,
'French' was accompanied by a French flag.....
'Italian'.......well you get the point....

Next to "English" was an American flag!

--------------

I once met a young lady, from NY, in a bar in Hawaii who was astounded that we spoke "American" too. She also wanted to know if we also had Christmas on 25 December "or did we wait for it to snow?"

Having watched a bit of American sports, I want to know if "winningest" is really a word? eg: "They are the most winningest team in the NFL"
Could they not just be the "team with the most wins"?

But if Hollywood can re-write history eg: Pearl Harbour, U571 and Saving Private Ryan why not start on the language too.

:bored:

[West Coast]

If Bill Gates had been British, you might have seen the union jack. To the winner go the spoils and claim to ownership.

[tony draper]

True Bluewolf, remember Good Queen Bess and the Bard himself spoke English much in the manner we Geordies do, and George Washinton hailed from these parts also, so he probably sounded like a pitman.
:rolleyes:

[moggie]

I have been lead to believe that the older English spelling uses "Z"s in many places which modern English now uses an "S".

Therefore, localiZe would actually be correct.

The irony ("like Goldy and Bronzy but made of Iron") is that by mis-spelling the modern spelling of the word, Bill Gates has taken us back to the traditional way!

However, most of the stuff under discussion here (sky blue thinking, deep water thoughts) is what was know as "management w@nk words" when I was in the RAF a handful of years back. Blunty speak, Marketing speak, Management speak - all the same old cr@p with different names.

Well that's my bit of "joined up thinking" that has "squared the circle" and put "clear blue water" between myself and others.

[MG]

Funny really, the very first thread complained about Americanisms creeping in (and I do agree with 'Fire in the Hole' - awful!!!) but then spelt (or is that spelled?) ordi nance the American way. Blat, that'll be your foot hurting from the hole in it!!:O

[FEBA]

MG
No sorry I've just checked and ordinance is spelled correctly as per my Chambers dictionary. They're Scottish and generally much better at English than we are. It comes from the latin ordinare.
0/10 I'm afraid. Any way is any one going to remove this dreadful phrase Fyre (sic) in the Whole or what. Standing orders Colonel....
FEBA
:E

[chippy63]

I like "counter-intuitive" - translates to "sounds f***ing stupid, but we're desperate, so let's try it!"

[MajorMadMax]

Hell, if y'all think "Yank" sounds funny, y'all need to hear what they speak down in Texas...a bud of mine sent this to me before I moved to San Antonio...

Cheers! M2

The Texas Dictionary of the English Language

yawl---the pronoun of the second person plural. "Good to see yawl."

ward---a unit of language consisting of one or more spoken sounds. "Pardon me, could ah have a ward with yawl?"

lahr---a prevaricator; one who tells lies. "Are yew callin' me a lahr?"

watt---the lightest of colors. "Yew look watt as a sheet."

riot--- correct or proper. "That's jes as riot as rain."

often---so as to be no longer supported or attached. "Now stan still so ah can shoot that apple often yore had."

barley---only, just, no more than. "Ah can jes barley open mah eyes."

pour---having little or no means of support. "Them folks is downriot pour."

blond---without sight. "Love is blond."

lacked---was on the verge of or cam close to. "Ah lacked to died laughlin'."

main---of ugly disposition, nasty. "That there is one main man."

felons---a substance used to close the cavities in teeth. "When ah open mah mouth real wad yawl can see mah two felons."

thowed---to cause someone or something to go someplace as if by hurling. "Ah'm gonna have yawl thowed in jail!"

rum---a portion of space within a building. "Ah got to go to the restrum."

cheer---in this place or spot. "Yawl come riot cheer this minute!"

lard---the deity. "Lard only knows what happened."

beggar---larger as in size, height, width, amount, etc. "The beggar they come the harder they fall!"

thang---a material object without life or consciousness. "That don't main a thang."

prior---a devout petition to an object of worship. "Don't never say a prior with your hat on."

suede---dear, beloved, precious. "Ain't that jes too suede for wards?"

larry---wary, suspicious. "Ah would be larry of that if ah was yew."

prod---a high opinion of one's own dignity, importance, etc. "Ah take prod in mah work."

far---to discharge a firearm. "Stop or ah'm gonna far!"

tarred---exhausted. "Boy, am ah tarred!"

they---the objective and dative case of thou. "Mah country tis of they, suede land of liberty, of they ah sang..."

hem---objective case of he. "Ah drawed mah gun on hem."

owe---an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc. "That there is one thang ah stand in owe of."

thote---the passage in the neck from the mouth to the stomach. "Ah got a sore thote."

sighting---arousing or stirring up emotions. "That was one beg, sighting card game."

heidi---an expression of greeting. "Heidi, neighbor!"

sect---afflicted with ill health or disease. "Ah feel sect to mah stomach."

small---to assume a facial expression indicating pleasure. "Small and the whole world smalls with yew."

consarned---interested or participating. "Yawl ain't consarned in this no way!"

harket---going to the barber. "Mah hat never fits after ah get a harket."

drank---any liquid taken into the mouth and swallowed. "How 'bout a lil drank?"

squire---honest and above board. "Everythang here is fire and squire."

ails---other than the person or things implied. "Ah only done what anybody ails would do."

fair---a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, etc. "The only thang we have to fair is fair itsef."

tom---any specific point in a day, a month, a year. "How come yawl ain't never on tom?"

air---the organ of hearing in man. "Ah got an airache."

truss---reliance on integrity. "Don't yawl truss me?"

mere---a reflecting surface. "Ah jes hate to look at mahsef in the mere."

hep---to render assistance. "Ain't nobody gonna hep me?"

rang---to twist forcibly. "Ah'm gonna rang yore neck."

farfanger---the first finger next to the thumb. "Ah'm holdin' mah nose 'twixt mah thumb an farfanger."

Markin---a citizen of the United States. "ah am a Markin."

all---petroleum. "They found all on mah land!"

doll---the process used to operate a telephone. "Why that's a terrible mess of numbers to doll for a long distance call!"

wunst---one time and no more. "Call me that again, wunst more."

pawn---on top of; above. "Ah'm not gonna tell yew again to get off from pawn that table."

banes---large, smooth kidney shaped, edible seeds. "Ah could eat mah weight in pinto banes."

slave---the part of the garment covering an arm only. "Are yew sayin' mah left slave is shorter than mah riot?"

wuf---a large, doglike carnivorous mammal. "Who's afraid of the beg, bad wuf...?"

whalebarah---a small vehicle with handles and one wheel for conveying small loads. "Be careful! Don't let that whalebarah tump over."

node---past tense of "know." "Ah node ah shouldn't of bent over in these ol' britches."

paypal---a body of persons. "Where'd all them paypal come from?"

barred---(past tense), to receive with the expressed intention fo returning the same. "Who barred mah hat an' didn't brang it back?"

kaint---contraction for "can not." "Stop it! Yew kaint do it that way."

lane---to incline or bend from a vertical position. "All she did was lane her had on mah shoulder."

sep---to omit or bar. "Everyone can go in sep yew!"

coarse---a body of dancers and singers who execute special numbers. "Yore one of them coarse girls ain't yew?"

stars---a flight of steps. "If yawl thank ah'm gonna walk up all them stars yawl are crazy."

rueing---state of being destroyed, wrecked, etc. "Yawl are drivin' me to rack and rueing!"

lags---the limbs of man used for supporting the body. "That gal's lags look lack a stockin' full of rocks."

sacks---the character of being male or female. "Well, there's the male sacks an' then there's the female sacks..."

are---sixty minutes. "Ah'll meet yew there in about a are."

grain---a color. "He's jes grain with envy."

quahr---an organized company of singers. "Yes, mam, ah sang in the church quahr every Sunday."

lon---a large, carnivorous mammal of the cat family. "Yew tellin' me them Romans thowed the Christians to the lons!"

spell---to fall down. "Oooooeeeee! He sure took a nasty spell."

bean---a living person. "He's one of the finest human beans ah ever met."

ast---the past tense of the word,"ask." "Who ast yew!"

foured---the part of the face above the eyes. "The sweat's jes pourin' often mah foured."

stale---to take and carry away feloniously. "Thou shalt not stale..."

kwat---free from noise or disturbance. "Be kwat; yawl are makin' too much noise!"

tearse---a courtyard usually with trees and shrubs. " That thang yew call a tearse ain't nuthin' but a lil ol' patio."

favor---to run a temperature. " Ah thank ah got a favor."

sense---from a definite past time until now. "Ah kaint even doll the
telephone sense ah hurt mah fanger."

warsh---to cleanse by rubbing or scrubbing in water. "Pardon me, ah'm gonna warsh mah hands."

wrench---to wash lightly with water. "Can ah hep yew wrench off them dishes?"

bear---a ferment liquor brewed from malt and flavored with hops. "All ah had was one bottle of bear."

tempetour---the degree of hotness or coldness. "Boy, the tempetour must be about a hundred today."

libel---apt or likely to. "Don't never try to walk lack this or yore libel to bust a lag."

arn---a silver-white metallic element. "Mah muscle is as strong as arn."

mihyun---the number immediately following 999,999. "If ah told yew wunst ah told yew a mihyun toms."

error---the missile used with a bow. "Ah shot a error into the air, an' where it fell ah node not where..."

par---exerted energy, force, or might. "If yew can do that, more par to yew."

sar---having an acid or tart taste. "Boy, is that lemon ever sar!"

nekked---having on no clothes, nude. "...and there he was nekked as a jaybird."

tuther---being the one of two (or more). "Yew kaint have both; take one or the tuther."

card---a person who lacks courage. "Ah'm callin' yew a yella-bellied card!"

Ainglish---the language spoken in the United Kingdom and the United States. "What's the matter with yew, kaint yew understand the kang's Ainglish?"

thank---to have a judgment or opinion of. "Ah hope yawl enjoyed raidin' this dictionary. But jes thank of what yew must sound lack to a Texan!"

[Flatus Veteranus]

MG, FEBA

"An Ordinance was published prohibiting the discharge of ordnance". See OED. :O

[18greens]

I hate to rain on various parades (is that american?) but Moggie has a point, old englishe spelt with the letter zee. It was the frogs who introduced the s into the language.

So there you go, do you admit to organising the french way or organizing the American way.

[FEBA]

I'm not sure this is correct. We occupied most of France for so many years, how do you know it wasnt the other way around??

[moggie]

18 greens - have you any idea how unpopular you now are in the US? You have just suggested that they spell words the same way as the FRENCH!!!!

Nice one, yawl!

Major Mad Max - surely the "tempetour" was cose on a "hunner daygreez", not hundred.

[TheNightOwl]

Agreed, FV, and on the other spelling - E.O.D. = Explosive Ordnance Disposal, (or so I was taught when changing from Bomb Disposal).

Kind regards,

TheNightOwl.

[18greens]

Moggie,

Read it again, other way round surely.

Wouldn't want to offend our mates.

[moggie]

Doh! Still, offending Yanks is never wasted effort!

[Mister B]

To sort of get back to the spirit of thread:

In the early nineties I attended a Joint Warfare Course at RM Poole. During one of the presentations, a USMC bird Colonel uttered the following: "Amphibiosity is the main tent pole of this operation":confused:

About the same time I also attended a PfP SAR seminar in Aberdeen at which a US Coastguard lootenant described their problem solving process thus: "We break it [the problem] up into bite-size chunks, chew it over awhile, then spit out the answer". Fine for English speakers, but somewhat perplexing for the former WP attendees who were listening to real-time translation; the Russians particulalry looked bemused, as lunch was still some way off.:uhoh:

A report from, I think, the Daily Bellylaugh a couple of years ago:

At a demo by USMC of a new combat vehicle, the Marine Captain acting as guide stated that said vehicle "has high manouevrability in low trafficability situations". When a quizzical senior British officer asked what exactly he meant by that, the rather sheepish reply was "goes well in mud, sir".:O

[FEBA]

MT Sargeant at a famous training camp SW England points to a rear spring on a land rover and enquires;
"You FEBA (not my real name of course) what's this called"
"It's a spring sarg"
"Yeah but wot sort of spring is it?"
"A leaf spring Sarg"
"To give it it's full name son, it's a semi epileptic spring"
Priceless. :ok:

[EmeraldToilet]

FEBA,

If you start including things like that in the thread you will get tales such as AAC SSM in gulf war 1 saying to Sqn parade
" There have been some allegations made, and I want to know who the alligators are?"

priceless

:D

[FEBA]

Emarald
Top quote, sorry we're losing the point of this thread with regards to Americanisms However:
Woolwich baracks (some years ago) Arnhem block to Corrunna block
Bombardier X " You; get over to Corrunna dismantle a bed , bring over to Arnhem then mantle it up"
One had to keep a straight face ..... That's discipline.

[L J R]

And you guys don't think that the Brits have some backward terms / RT???

Thank F@@@ we now say LEFT and RIGHT not PORT / STARBOARD.

I never knew which way the Port was - let alone what a starboard actually means.

What about INITIALS and FINALS - I thought that the term INITIAL meant one place and FINAL was a single line on the circuit. - Who can tell me the second route to land that involves the necessity of calling it FINALS.

...and when you call ATC for some advice / information / dircetion, the reply is 'XXX [your callsign] PASS YOUR MESSAGE'. No I do not have a message to pass, just someting to ask YOU [the Air Trafficer]..




I could go on but the G & T calls


..

[BlueWolf]

"Starboard" is a dialectic transliteration of "steerboard". The steer board preceded the rudder for steering boats, and was located on the right hand side of the vessel. It dates from before the Vikings.

"Port" is so called because the port was off the left hand side of the vessel when leaving harbour and heading north, when on the east coast of Britain, or heading south from the west coast, in both instances to take advantage of favourable ocean currents.

How it would have worked in the southern hemisphere is anyone's guess - port and sherry, maybe?:)

[Skylark4]

Port was Port because that was the side you always tied to the port (quay). You couldn`t do it the other way around because you had this bluddy great steering board in the way.

Mike W

[Lu Zuckerman]

We had a grizzled old chief from New Jersey tell us Boots that " Youse guys may have the education but I got the atority".

:ooh:

[flyboy007]

LJR. Concur in total. What is it with turning base and calling finals???????????????????????Surely on base you should call base, and on finals, you should call finals, not turn base and call finals. Perhaps it's just me...

[BEagle]

It's a CAP413 thing. The word is 'final', not 'finals'; there is no such term as 'short final (or finals)' - and 'long final' is more than 4nm from touchdown.

Isn't it time we all used the same terms on the RT? Overshoot or go-around?

And as for "Sir, ahhhh, request high speed ahhhhh gear up low approach to pitch into the closed" - Yank-speak for run-in and break - words fail me!

Have a good day - missing y'all ready..... :yuk:

[Swinging the Lead]

I think we need to get our sh!t in a sock first,

I have seen lots of GA students getting totally confused by our light-blue-sideways-scurrying friends stumping up with - 'to roll' when they mean 'touch and go' AT A CIVVY airfield,

and what is the RT high key in the circuit? or QSY for that matter can't find them in the CAP.

[escapee]

My paricular hated saying that has crept in is 'at this time'
Such as 'what flt level r u passing?' 'Passing fl 250 at this time'
how about 'passing FL 250'
'Target has changed course onto 300 at this time'
'We have no further information at this time' etc etc..

[Banana99]

Worst has to be when I was in the USA when the Chicago Bulls won thier third consecutive championship (or whatever) ThreePeat.

Mine you as Jeremy Clarkson said - the Americans are very good at words.

[StopStart]

"Ah, be advised Sir, it has not been possible to accomodate your request at this time".

....or.....


"No"

:p

[HAL Pilot]

And as for "Sir, ahhhh, request high speed ahhhhh gear up low approach to pitch into the closed" - Yank-speak for run-in and break - words fail me! That might be the USAF way, but in the Navy it's "request the break".

All I have to say is that one of you English gentlemen need to go to San Francisco and announce loudly in the bar that you'd "like to smoke a fag". You'll be in for a big surprise.

[ragspanner]

Never mind "request the break"(tea 2 sugars please) but is it true all American males are possessed of fannys ?, curious !.

[Lu Zuckerman]

Believe it or not, I had an Uncle Willy and his wifes name was Fanny.

:hmm:

[Surditas]

Well, I once saw a photo of a restaurant in the USA called "W@nker's Corner". Apparently Mrs W@NKER was surprised to learn what her name means in some parts of the world...

[FEBA]

BBC2 2100 Sunday 06 JUL
RM assault sqn blue on blue takes a direct from a milan
a marine was interviewed and said "We had to bug out" what does that mean??? Americanisms like "Fire in the hole". In English it's "get the fc@k out"

[Art Field]

One Yankie word it might be great to see on this side of the Pond could be "Hooters" but can you imagine one in Scarborough?.:p :p :p

[BEagle]

Actually Artie, you'll never believe this but the only Hooters in the UK (and that's an 'official' Hooters, US-style) is in Nottingham:

Hooters of Nottingham
The Great Northern Close
Nottingham, England NG23AE

Now don't you go and get too excited, old chum - but according to Microsoft AutoRoute it's only 99 miles from your location! Good place for a TTF reunion......??

[Surditas]

Mike Jenvey,

Went to the site you suggested. I note that one can shop online to purchase "official W@nkerwear"

[FishHead]

There is so much to love about that pub's homepage....

"W@nker Special.....(Certified Angus Beef)
A 10-once top sirloin steak, seasoned and seared to your liking."

"Specialty Draft - W@nkers Own Outback Ale"

and the highlight for me, in the merchandising section:
"Grab Your Nuts" Boxers
One size fits all Male and Female boxers. Featuring the W@nkers Roo and the "grab your nuts slogan"
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:D :D :D

[oldpinger]

Won't even go into the way the kiwis talk.... (stand by incoming)

Can't go past the "fush and chups", and as I heard a kiwi P3 talking about an HF freq- "Airforce #### this is #### on sux sux siven sux"

See, we don't need to take the 'Puss' out of the yanks, when the kiwis are right next door!


:D

[henry crun]

Please stop Oldpinger, my sides are splitting :) :D

Do I hear you ask why ?
Because of all the accents on this earth, an Australian should poke the borax at that of another country. :D

[BlueWolf]

....and there's some previously unexplained, yet somehow plausible, reason why it should have been "seex seex seevin seex" instead???!!:confused: :confused: :D

gewd orn yar, maete.....
;)

feesh and cheeps anyone?:) :)

[Zoom]

An earlier poster was correct when he observed that English (and every other language, for that matter) will evolve over time. You'll just get into trouble if you try to stop the process - like the French.

But as regards revolution, bring back Al Haig..... he knew how to marmalize English. There was a v clever article in Airclues c1980/81 by a Sqn Ldr Masterson or Masterton on how to Haig-ize English. Eg, someone who kills is a killer, and a killer killerizes, and the act is killerization, and the person who does it is a killerizationer, who killerizationorizes...........and so on, but put much better. Can some light-blue dredge up the article?

[luke77]

First, call everyone "sir" - better results.

If at Red Flag and you hear:

"You guys did a Good job Out there" - means brit average

"You guys did a great job" - above average

They don`t have a word for crap as in the US-of-A-world of how one is perceived, this is one that can`t be lived down in the bar.

Excellent is "outstanding" and is reserved for people at dining-outs or day-to-day reference to George Bush

[oldpinger]

Well, it's always good to get a bite from a kiwi, (or two) bit of an easy target though..:p

only kidding though, any country that produces the all blacks shouldn't be taken the piss out of I suppose!

:O