Amusing Military Acronyms / Phrases

[LD1Racing]

Particularly liked this one describing air-to-air refuelling (from Vulcan 607)

"Like trying to push wet spaghetti up a cats arse"

[Makila2A]

Not ex Mil, but used to work with a bloke we called Opium, as he was a slow working dope.

[andy400]

'Split Arse' = Offensive term for a Wren. (Female serviceperson in modern parlance)

[Justayellowbadge]

wildcat45 said:

GUCCI - Anything that is good. Gucci watch, Gucci piece of electronic gear etc etc.

I bloody hate that.

Onanist salesmen seem to use it a lot.

Makes me vomit.

[rhinochopig]

andy400 said:

'Split Arse' = Offensive term for a Wren. (Female serviceperson in modern parlance)

The local piss head called Princess Beatrice a split arse when she popped into my local. She didn't get it, so he had to explain what it meant. The very burly close protection chap nearly spat out his soft drink trying not to laugh.

[TheLurker]

rhinochopig said:

andy400 said:

'Split Arse' = Offensive term for a Wren. (Female serviceperson in modern parlance)

The local piss head called Princess Beatrice a split arse when she popped into my local. She didn't get it, so he had to explain what it meant. The very burly close protection chap nearly spat out his soft drink trying not to laugh.

[andy400]

Justayellowbadge said:

wildcat45 said:

GUCCI - Anything that is good. Gucci watch, Gucci piece of electronic gear etc etc.

I bloody hate that.

Onanist salesmen seem to use it a lot.

Makes me vomit.

Sorry.



Can't seem to wean myself off that one after growing up with it's constant use in the service.

I'm not a salesman though, so all is perhaps not yet lost.

[JCB123]

I'm not in any Service so I'm taking a stab at FUBAR been fked Up Beyond All Recognition?!

[chally2]

that's it JCB.

there's quite a bit of rhyming slang. is this a mil only thin or borrowed from cockneys?

frankie bough - scoff
hank marvin - starving

etc

bimble
bobfoc (when talking about a girl with a good body but fell out of the ugly tree: body of baywatch, face of crimewatch)
bootneck - royal marines
(green) maggot/ doss bag- sleeping bag
Floppies - Sandhurst slang for over seas cadets (F Lazy Overseas Personnel). Also known as 'non-swimmers' given the Arab/Belizean's complete ineptitude in the swimming pool PT sessions.
scaleybacks - royal signals personnel

[andy400]

chally2 said:

Floppies - Sandhurst slang for over seas cadets (F Lazy Overseas Personnel).

We call 'em BIFFs. Bloody Ignorant Foreign fkers.

Pongo and Crabfat, of course, for the inferior services.

[Johnnytheboy]

Slightly off-topic, but many years ago I went to an army surplus sale and spotted two boxes of toast racks, one box containing somewhat better, shinier toast racks.

Each box was labelled in the usual military backwards-speak:

"Rack, Toast"

"Rack, Toast, Officer's"

[Cooky]

Royal Navy 'Jackspeak' is a language developed over many hundreds of years, there is a book pub lished somewhere too.

Pongo's - Army Personell
boatpeople - submariners
skimmers or targets - surface ships
spanner w@nker - engineer

[chally2]

there's the old adage about magnetic variation for map reading and when you add it or take away, 'grid to mag add, mag to grid, get rid'.

by extension, Army guys talk about getting rid of something or leaving somewhere as "mag to grid" - we were in the pub but no one was in so we magged to grid.

[wildcat45]

G_T said:

WAFU - Wet And fking Useless, couldn't tell you who it's aimed at specifically on a Navy vessels but it's definately one used a lot by the old man!

I just smile and nod.

The fleet air arm helicopter chaps

[wildcat45]

Justayellowbadge said:

wildcat45 said:

GUCCI - Anything that is good. Gucci watch, Gucci piece of electronic gear etc etc.

I bloody hate that.

Onanist salesmen seem to use it a lot.

Makes me vomit.

A had a wonderful shouting at from an army PR person once who got the whole Gucci thing wrong. She wanted me to do a story on something that in my view was boring and non-news.

Her response.

"Sorry we're not as much fun as your friends in the RAF and Navy. I don't have any Armarni jets and ships for you to ponce around in. Just tanks."

Now if Armarni did jet fighters...........

[S7Paul]

These are some submarine-related words/phrases. These were copied from a document produced to prepare non-RN personnel who may be required to spend time onboard. If you need any of the less obvious ones explained, don't ask me!

Duff = Dessert
Nutty = Sweets
Arigonies = Tinned Tomatoes
st on a raft = Kidney On Toast
Elephants Footprint = Spam Fritter
Bomb Shop = Weapons Compartment
Kettle = Reactor
Jimmy The One = First Lieutenant
Killick = Leading Hand
Cloth Eared Loons = Sonar Operators
Kai = Hot Chocolate
Angles And Dangles = Submarine Manoeuvring Evolutions
Broach = To Surface Unintentionally
Fish = Torpedo
Heads = Toilets
Slide = Butter
A Triple F (AFFF) = Aqueous Film Forming Foam For Fire Fighting
Babies Heads = Steak & Suet Pudding
Bum Nut = Egg
Pit / Rack = Bed
Pot Mess = Type of Stew
Colours / Sunset = Raising and Lowering of the Ensign
A Nobby Clark = A Shark
Upper & Lower Deck Trot = Junior Rating Sentry on Casing and in Control Room while in Harbour

[Ranger 6]

Makila2A said:

Not ex Mil, but used to work with a bloke we called Opium, as he was a slow working dope.

Bit like 'Throm' = Thrombosis - slow moving clot

Yomp & Tab = marching/walking in full kit, faster than a bimble
Travel by 'Bedicopter' = use of a Bedford instead of a real helicopter to drop you in the arse end of no-where

[Justayellowbadge]

wildcat45 said:

Now if Armarni did jet fighters...........

They'd probably spell Armani correctly.

[JamesM]

NBPE Not Being Punched Enough

Quite a few people suffer from NBPE.

[ClaphamGT3]

At beginning of Op Granby (1st gulf war) Senior Naval Officer Gulf was changed to Senior Naval Officer Middle East, apparently at Mrs T's direct request

Even now, I remind the youngsters at work of "the rule of the seven Ps"