PhilB Posted 6 January , 2008 Share Posted 6 January , 2008 I have to say, there were a few I hadn`t come across! http://www.cit.gu.edu.au/~davidt/z_ww1_slang/index_bak.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 6 January , 2008 Share Posted 6 January , 2008 Some missing items - the list has big ack for the AW8 so should also include Little Ack =AW3 Harry Tate = RE8 Feeplane = FE8 (and sometime FE2) In addition Mesopolonica definition needs expanding to include something rumoured but untrue "Theres a messopolonica going around that we're being pulled back to blighty" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyes Posted 6 January , 2008 Share Posted 6 January , 2008 QUOTE (Phil_B @ Jan 6 2008, 02:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I have to say, there were a few I hadn`t come across! http://www.cit.gu.edu.au/~davidt/z_ww1_slang/index_bak.htm Phil What a great link! I just spent the better part of an hour and only scratched the surface. There are dozens of expressions I have heard (and in some cases used) all my life, especially in the service, and did not know the background. Many thanks. There is at least one (actually, because we are speaking of soldiers slang, there are probably hundreds) which is not in the list. To be OK was to suffer a hit from an enemy shell. "The Battery HQ was OK'd by a Jack Johnson". No idea where that came from but it was in use by the RFA for much of the war. I just love this stuff. Cheers Phil Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john.roddam@btinternet.com Posted 8 January , 2008 Share Posted 8 January , 2008 What a fascinating collection of words and phrases. I'm sure there must be many more. "SPUD" More recently this was the nickname for anyone with the surname 'Tate' but I don't know if that was so during the first war. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 8 January , 2008 Share Posted 8 January , 2008 "SPUD" More recently this was the nickname for anyone with the surname 'Tate' but I don't know if that was so during the first war. In those less PC days it was often applied to guys called Murphy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Clay Posted 8 January , 2008 Share Posted 8 January , 2008 I don't think Messrs W.D. & H.O. Wills would be too pleased with this definition! WOODBINE A cheap and particularly offensive cigarette. Jim (I used to enjoy a 'Wild Woodie' in my mis-spent yoof ... ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveMurphy Posted 8 January , 2008 Share Posted 8 January , 2008 In those less PC days it was often applied to guys called Murphy I might know a bloke who still gets called Spud! Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted 8 January , 2008 Author Share Posted 8 January , 2008 (I used to enjoy a 'Wild Woodie' in my mis-spent yoof ... ) As little boys, we thought it really funny to go into a shop, ask the assistant if they had any Wild Woodbines and then suggest they take them outside and tame them. And then run away before the shop manager (always a man in those days) could connect with his boot. Quite hilarious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyes Posted 8 January , 2008 Share Posted 8 January , 2008 Phil Same, same. "Have you any Prince Albert (famous tabacco) in a can?" "Well let him out then!" Yup, at least we thought we were hilarious. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffsyeoman Posted 10 January , 2008 Share Posted 10 January , 2008 If you feel like spending money, I have no hesitation in directing everyone to the imminently published "The Daily Telegraph Dictionary of Tommies' Song and Slang" by John Brophy and Eric Partridge (Pen & Sword) £19.99... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 10 January , 2008 Share Posted 10 January , 2008 Why is it the Daily Telegraph Dictionary? Just a bit of marketing, I guess. It was originally published in 1965 as "Songs and Slang ...". I have the Sphere Books paperback edition from 1969, called "The Long Trail: songs and slang ...". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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