Glossary of Army Slang explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Survival and Daily Life

  The glossary covers essential aspects of soldier life: rations (bully beef, Maconochie), rest (billets, doss), and hygiene (cootie).

• Horrors and Absurdity of War

  Terms like 'dud', 'push up the daisies', and 'wooden cross' underscore the ever-present death and danger, while 'wind up' captures the psychological toll.

• Class and Rank

  The glossary distinguishes ranks (lance corporal, M.O.) and includes class-inflected language like 'bloody' and 'ruddy', reflecting social hierarchies.

Characters to notice

• Tommy

  Referenced as the user of the slang, e.g., 'Tommy's way of saying' and 'Tommy has borrowed from Fritz'.

• Fritz

  Defined as 'an affectionate term for our friend the enemy' and noted as a source of borrowed words like 'strafing'.

• The Huns

  Defined as 'a German' in the glossary.

• The Germans

  Mentioned as inventors of gas and the knuckle knife.

Key passages

• “Blighty England. East Indian derivation. The paradise looked forward to by all good soldiers⁠—and all bad ones too.”

  Blighty is a slang term for England, originating from East Indian languages, and represents the idealized home that every soldier, regardless of behavior, longs to return to.

  Highlights the emotional significance of home and escape from the front.

• “Cootie The common⁠—the too common⁠—body louse. Everybody has ’em.”

  Cootie refers to the ubiquitous body louse that infests all soldiers, emphasizing the shared misery of trench life.

  Illustrates the dehumanizing and unsanitary conditions of trench warfare.

• “Wind up Windy Nervous. Jumpy. Temporary involuntary fear.”

  Wind up describes a state of nervousness or temporary fear that soldiers experience involuntarily.

  Captures the psychological strain and anxiety of combat.