| Vanitas vanitatum
(vanity of vanities)
Cicero |
Dominic Vautier
4-12-2012
The army had, and probably continues to have a very expressive and fundamental way of communicating. Day to day conversations were not only clear and direct, they were very colorful and abundantly sprinkled with memorable expressions. Here is a list of some of the expressions that were in use while I was stationed in Europe from 1965 until 1967. I am sure there are many more expressions. Meanings may change from location.
Airborne can refer to someone who is very enthusiastic about anything army.
Article 15 - This is a reference to Army Regulation regarding disciplinary action within a unit (company, or battery). It was administered at the battery/company level, and everybody knew what an article 15 was. It was big trouble.
Ass - could be a person. As in “Get your ass over here.” In fact compound words using ass were very numerous and came in many shapes and sizes. Some examples: dumbass, smartass, lazyass, fatass, hardass, stupidass, badass. This suffix could be applied to just about anything, mostly for emphasis.
ass in a bind - You are in a difficult position as "your ass is in a serious bind right now."
ass in a sling - You are in trouble as "Man--is my ass in a sling."
asshole buddy - very
close friendship with another guy
ass is grass - means you are in big trouble. as in "Your ass is grass and I've got the lawn mower." or "Oh God, my ass is grass now!"
assholes and elbows - This indicates that the only body parts to be visible are from the rear. It is meant to encourage feverish, enthusiastic and rapid activity, as in: "OK I want you to get moving out of here and all I want to see are assholes and elbows."
at ease
- means
take it easy. Cool it. Don’t get excited.
beat feet. go somewhere fast.
Boo koo or bu cu
- big,
gigantic, huge, very large. Comes from
Vietnam, originally from the French who occupied Vietnam before the U S.
Bring fire
-
to cause somebody pain or grief. An artillery expression as in “I will bring fire
down on your sorry ass.”
buddy for life
- means
I'm
very thankful for your help, or I appreciate the favor, or thanks a
lot or BFF.
Case of the ass or
serious case of the ass - Angry
with somebody or something “I’ve developed an extreme case of the
ass against that hardass sergeant in HQ.
carry.
Transport, as in “I’ll
cover and dress right. When in formation, arm length behind guy to right and cover guys in front so you can see only one guy.
cunt cap.
garrison cap.
dragging ass not working at normal speed, tired, exhausted.
Drop your cocks and grab your socks! - a favorite way for the sergeant to wake us up in the morning.
Every swinging dick
- a term that included everybody, as in "I want every swinging dick
to fall in right now!".
first echelon basic
stuff. Not to difficult to do. The
military had arranged all activity into categories based on competency
and training. First echelon
was mostly tightening bolts on trucks.
flatass totally,
completely. as "I am flatass tired".
Frauline American
pronounciation FRAU-lin
a young German girl.
FTA fuck the Army
Fuckin-A - cool move, neat work, great job. I never found out what the A meant.
gig to
get identified or punished for something.
Something found incorrect during an inspection “I really got giged
badass yesterday.”
gig line Uniforms
had to be on the gig line. The
belt buckle had to be right over the pants zipper and the blouse had to
be in line with the belt buckle.
good for days good for a long time.
grabass fooling
around as in “Alright, cut the grab ass”
gung ho Extreme
or excessive enthusiasm concerning things army from Vietnam I think.
Hang fire. To cause trouble for someone. An artillery term. This came to mean the same as bring fire. Originally hang fire was used to describe a dud, or a round that did not fire. Perhaps later it meant artillery activity, much like "incoming" used in Vietnam. example "I'm going to hang fire over your sorry ass."
H
hardass difficult
person to deal with.
hardon. (hard-on)
dislike,
hatred. Used a lot in
hat up. leave, go somewhere
I shit you not - this is the honest to God truth, no kidding.
Kick ass and take names.
This means that you are angry and somebody is going to get into trouble.
lazy ass lazy
person.
Lifer career soldier. Usually used
with prejudice or distain.
light 'em up take a brake and light your cigarette
MOS
pronounced Mm-Oh-Ess, job, Military Occupational Specialty. Everyone knew their MOS.
Mine was 83C.
Mox nix it
doesn’t matter. I don't care. It's not important. From German “macht nicht”
On the mat in
big trouble. You have to
appear in front of the captain (on his mat) for impending disciplinary action.
Rad a
German civilian guy.
Railroad tracks captain
(two bars).
Ranger very
enthusiactic.
Shit refers
to equipment or possessions or just about everything. As in “Don't mess with my shit
Shit or go blind. a moment of great indecision as in "When I understood what the situation was I didn't know whether to shit or go blind.
shit-can throw
away
shit-paper toilet
paper
slick sleeve buck
private E1 or E2 with no stripes.
special forces a
super
human
strake (short a as in rack) extremely dedicated, clean, and sharp
Tear a new asshole
- this can be used in two ways to indicate complete exhaustion such as
"I've been just tearing myself a new asshole over this issue", or in a threatening or destructive way such as "If you keep doing
that I will personally tear you a new asshole."
This man's Army - used in a special and endearing way to refer to the Army. It wasn't just the Army. It was "This Man's army", as in "We just do not tolerate sloppy shit like that in this man's Army".
Uptight did not mean anxious. Rather it meant you were in a good place sexually. You were "up-tight and out of sight".
Umbrella specialist
rank