SNAFU Situation Normal All F***ed Up: Sailor, Airman, and Soldier Slang of World War II
4.5/5
()
About this ebook
Military life has always been ruled by its own language, specific sets of terms and phrases that separate the serving man or woman from their civilian counterpart. There is the official version of ranks and acronyms, and the more unofficial, colloquial language of the barrack room and battlefield.
This follow-up to 2007's FUBAR: Soldier Slang of World War II differs from the original book in that it covers the slang of sailors and airman as well as soldiers. Detailed sections are included for each of the major combatants of World War II, and additional appendices detail the nicknames given to the major surface vessels and aircraft types of the war.
This title explores the language and slang of the major combatant powers, delving into their origins and explaining their uses. All of this is illustrated with contemporary cartoons and other images showing the phrases in use.
Gordon L. Rottman
Gordon L. Rottman entered the US Army in 1967, volunteered for Special Forces and completed training as a weapons specialist. He served in the 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam in 1969–70 and subsequently in airborne infantry, long-range patrol and intelligence assignments before retiring after 26 years. He was a Special Operations Forces scenario writer at the Joint Readiness Training Center for 12 years and is now a freelance writer, living in Texas.
Read more from Gordon L. Rottman
Grunt Slang in Vietnam: Words of the War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Book of Gun Trivia: Essential Firepower Facts Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Pacific War: From Pearl Harbor to Okinawa Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Big Book of Gun Trivia: Everything you want to know, don’t want to know, and don’t know you need to know Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHell in the Pacific: The Battle for Iwo Jima Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hunters' Island: Beyond Honor Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to SNAFU Situation Normal All F***ed Up
Related ebooks
War Slang: American Fighting Words & Phrases Since the Civil War, Third Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Whiskey Tango Foxtrot: The Real Language of the Modern American Military Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Dictionary of Military Terms Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAustralian Military Slang: A Dictionary Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMessengers of the Lost Battalion: The Heroic 551st and the Turning of the Tide at th Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Avoid Being Killed in a War Zone: The Essential Survival Guide for Dangerous Places Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Kamikaze: To Die for the Emperor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Royal Artillery Glossary: Historical and Modern Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Historical Turning Points in the German Air Force War Effort Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHeroes of Coastal Command: The RAF's Maritime War 1939–1945 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Naval Aviation in the Korean War: Aircraft, Ships and Men Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Push Me Pull You Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBattlefield Colloquialisms of World War I (1914-1918) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Royal Naval Air Service During the Great War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Narrow Margin: The Battle of Britain & the Rise of Air Power, 1930–1940 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOfficial History of the Royal Air Force 1935-1945 — Vol. I —Fight at Odds [Illustrated Edition] Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRoyal Flying Corps 1914-1918 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fleet the Gods Forgot: The U.S. Asiatic Fleet in World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5United States Naval Aviation, 1911–2014 Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5The German Fleet at War, 1939-1945 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe German Air Force versus Russia, 1941 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWolfpack Warriors: The Story of World War II's Most Successful Fighter Outfit Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5First U-Boat Flotilla Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Friend or Foe: Friendly Fire at Sea, 1939–1945 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Military Dictionary and Gazetteer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Royal Air Force: Re-Armament 1930 to 1939 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUS Naval Aviation, 1898–1945: The Pioneering Years to the Second World War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsArchitect of Air Power: General Laurence S. Kuter and the Birth of the US Air Force Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Fleet Air Arm: Recollections from Formation to Cold War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Wars & Military For You
A Daily Creativity Journal Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Art of War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The God Delusion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unacknowledged: An Expose of the World's Greatest Secret Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Killing the SS: The Hunt for the Worst War Criminals in History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forgotten Highlander: An Incredible WWII Story of Survival in the Pacific Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Making of the Atomic Bomb Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Last Kingdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Wager Disaster: Mayem, Mutiny and Murder in the South Seas Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sun Tzu's The Art of War: Bilingual Edition Complete Chinese and English Text Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unit 731: Testimony Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World--and Why Their Differences Matter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Art of War: The Definitive Interpretation of Sun Tzu's Classic Book of Strategy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Resistance: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5109 East Palace: Robert Oppenheimer and the Secret City of Los Alamos Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of War & Other Classics of Eastern Philosophy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for SNAFU Situation Normal All F***ed Up
3 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/54.5 StarsA comprehensive collection of slang terms used during WWII. There's a section for different branches of the U.S. military (except the U.S. Army, which is featured in FUBAR), the British services, and even a German section. Very enjoyable and put together well. Recommended for history readers, especially ones interested in military history.Net Galley Feedback
Book preview
SNAFU Situation Normal All F***ed Up - Gordon L. Rottman
AMERICAN SLANG
BACKGROUND
US Navy slang terms were quite colorful and greatly influenced by words picked up in foreign ports of call, especially China where the Navy had been deployed long before World War II. Navy jargon retained many traditional terms and phrases through the war, but new phrases were also added as new types of vessels and weapons systems appeared. The US Coast Guard, which was placed under the control of the Navy during the war, used much of the same jargon.
The bridge gang,
especially the signalmen, were kept busy on all watches. (Author’s Collection)
GO FIND A…
Recruits or gullible men newly assigned to a ship were frequently told to go find some nonsensical or nonexistent item or piece of equipment. They were usually told to ask a specific individual, undoubtedly a crusty old petty officer with little sense of humor who would usually go along with the gag. The Army, Marines, and Air Force had their own versions:
Hammock ladder – essential for climbing into a swaying hammock. Hundred feet of shore line – or any other quantity for that matter. Bulkhead remover – with no clear description of what it looked like. Crow’s nest – it might be occupied by a lookout.
BT punch – the sailor would be sent to a boiler tech (BT) who would punch him on the arm. Along the same lines be may be sent to the bosun’s locker for a bosun’s punch. (It would hurt too.)
Bucket of steam from the boiler room – used for cleaning greasy parts.
Smoke preventer – when asking officers and petty officers where one could be found, the searching sailor would eventually realize that there may not be any such item.
Can of holdback grease from supply – no one had any idea what it held back.
Report to the bridge to grease the relative bearing – take a rag to clean your hands and speak properly to the officer on watch.
Mail buoy – seamen on their first cruise were told to spend the night writing letters so they could be posted to the mail buoy the ship would pass the next day, even if they were mid-Atlantic. They also could be set on mail buoy watch with instructions to call the bridge and report to the skipper when it was spotted.
Channel fever shots – a new sailor might be sent to the sickbay for these.
Jimmy legs,
the ship’s master-at-arms, was responsible for weapons training and maintenance. (Author’s Collection)