RTC

As graduation approached there were several rumors swirling around us and they were intended to add salt to our wounds before leaving RTC.

2013, David Banagis, Twenty-Three Days at Sea: A Sailor's Story, Bloomington, IN: Abbott Press, →ISBN, page 15:

w:Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Illinois

(US, military) Initialism of Recruit Training Command: a unit within the United States Navy responsible for conducting the initial orientation and indoctrination of incoming recruits, located at Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois.


aerosol bomb

thermobaric weapon
thermobaric weapon#English

(weaponry) A type of thermobaric weapon.


corkscrew stake

en-noun

corkscrew stake (plural corkscrew stakes)

So far we had done nothing except file past a tool-dump, where men had collected picks, shovels, coils of wire and corkscrew stakes.

1930, Siegfried Sassoon, The Complete Memoirs of George Sherston: Memoirs of an Infantry Officer, London: Faber and Faber, page 337 (Faber Paper 1972 edition):

(military) A steel stake, used for barbed-wire defences, the lower half of which is corkscrew-shaped, to enable it to be screwed into the ground.


screw picket

(military) A steel stake, used for barbed-wire defences, the lower half of which is corkscrew shaped, to enable it to be screwed into the ground.


COC

Alternative form: CoC

chain of command
chain of command#English

(military) Initialism of chain of command.


gold star parent

gold star parent (plural gold star parents)

(US military) the parent of a member of the U.S. armed forces who was killed in action


X-plane

(US, military) Any of a series of experimental aircraft and rockets, used to test and evaluate new technologies and aerodynamic concepts.


Q-boat

(military, historical) Synonym of Q-ship


Q-ship

Short for Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland, the home port of the British Q-ships, when they were first implemented in World War I.

Q-ships were usually armed with one 4-inch and two 12-pounder guns. These were hidden behind hinged bulwarks, inside false superstructures and false deck cargoes, or under dummy lifeboats.

2005, Spencer Tucker, Priscilla Mary Roberts, World War I: Encyclopedia, ABC-Clio, →ISBN, page 956:

(military, historical) A merchant ship with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks.


WAR

Winchester Automatic Rifle
w:Winchester Automatic Rifle

(military, historical) Initialism of Winchester Automatic Rifle.


SOCMINT

social media intelligence
social media intelligence#English

(espionage) Acronym of social media intelligence.


INT

INT (countable and uncountable, plural INTs)

(espionage) Abbreviation of intelligence.


social media intelligence

(espionage) Intelligence gathered from social media.


militaric

en-adj

militaric (comparative more militaric, superlative most militaric)

more militaric (comparative)
most militaric (superlative)

(military, rare) Of or pertaining to a military.


militarical

militarical (comparative more militarical, superlative most militarical)

more militarical (comparative)
most militarical (superlative)

(military, very rare) Of or pertaining to a military.


Tallboy

en-noun

Tallboy (countable and uncountable, plural Tallboys)

This is understandable inasmuch that the majority of observers were inside the air raid shelters by the time Tallboys started exploding and time delay fuses added even more to the confusion.

2002, Jak P. Mallmann Showell, Hitler's U-boat Bases, page 140:

The 12,000-pound ‘Tallboy’ was another creation from Barnes Wallis, who had long been privately working on the new generation of heavyweight, aerodynamic bombs.[…]Reaching a terminal velocity or 3,700 feet per second, the Tallboy was capable of making a crater that would have taken 5,000 tons of earth to fill.

2009, Leo McKinstry, Lancaster: The Second World War's Greatest Bomber:

The first occasion that the Tallboy was used in support of the Normandy campaign was on the night 8-9 June against the Saumur railway tunnel.[…]Twenty three Tallboys were dropped, most falling near the markers at the mouth of the tunnel causing great damage.

2014, Ben Kite, Stout Hearts: The British and Canadians in Normandy 1944, page 226:

Joe's nose art was Chuck-Chuck, a panda that was variously depicted driving a Jeep, carrying a Tallboy bomb or, to symbolise the British/American connection, wearing a top hat decorated with the American flag and a vest bearing the Union Jack and carrying a cigarette in a holder to represent President Roosevelt while smoking a cigar to represent Winston Churchill.

2014, George 'Johnny' Johnson, The Last British Dambuster: One man's extraordinary life and the raid that changed history, page 5:

Production of Tallboys was limited to one a day in Britain, and although thirty per week were being made in America, the convoys bringing them over could be held up by bad weather and the continuing (if decreasing) threat from U-boats.

2015, Sam Gooch, Group Captain John 'Joe' Collier DSO, DFC and Bar:

(military, historical) An earthquake bomb developed for the British Armed Forces and deployed by the RAF during World War II.


Kerrison predictor

Kerrison predictor (plural Kerrison predictors)

Designed by Major A. V. Kerrison at the Admiralty Research Laboratory, Teddington, in the late 1930s.

(military, historical) An early automated anti-aircraft fire-control system, capable of aiming a gun at an aircraft based on simple inputs such as observed speed and the angle to the target.


Royal Yorker

(military, historical) A member of the King's Royal Regiment of New York.


BRAT

(US, military) Acronym of Bradley reactive armor tile


counterriposte

(fencing) A thrust delivered in response to the opponent's riposte.


as you were

Disregard the previous partial command or order and return to the most recent formal command or order.

stehen Sie bequem

tell soldiers they need no longer stand at attention

weitermachen

make soldiers return to previous duty after inspection

standing at attention
stand at attention

Stop standing at attention or don't stand at attention (used when, for instance, an officer enters a barracks room).


quartermaster train

quartermaster train (plural quartermaster trains)

On the other hand, almost the entire quartermaster company is properly included as the division quartermaster train. It furnishes the nucleus of the transportation pool for the division, and its cargo vehicles are used for transportation of supplies for the division as a whole, and of course for evacuation of personnel and supplies that can be carried to the rear in trucks which would otherwise return empty.

1943, Military Review - Volume 23, Issue 4, page 48:

In 1931, to provide quartermaster personnel for posts and stations in the United States, the quartermaster train in each active division except the 2d was reduced to two motor companies and a motor repair section.

1999, John B. Wilson, Maneuver and Fire Power: The Evolution of Divisions and Separate Brigades, →ISBN:

After crossing the river the Idaho emigrants left for the west and the command marched down the left bank to the Missouri Eiver, there ferrying the quartermaster train and battery and fording with horses and mules.

2005, Minn Board of Commissioners, Minnesota in the Civil And Indian Wars 1861-1865, →ISBN, page 675:

(military) The vehicles and personnel dedicated to moving supplies which are under the command of the quartermaster.


beskozyrka

beskozyrka (plural beskozyrki or beskozyrkas)

beskozyrki (plural)
beskozyrkas (plural)

(nautical, navy) A flat visorless sailor's cap.


crucifix position

crucifix position (plural crucifix positions)

He shines in the gym, floors his opponents in Greco-Roman wrestling and effortlessly holds a crucifix position on the rings.

2007, Philippe Grimbert, Secret, page 26:

(gymnastics, wrestling) A posture of the body wherein the legs are kept straight together and the arms are extended horizontally.


female tank

armoured fighting vehicle
armoured fighting vehicle

(World War I military, historical) an armoured fighting vehicle on caterpillar tracks equipped with machine guns but no cannon.


male tank

(World War I military, historical) an armoured fighting vehicle on caterpillar tracks equipped with cannon.


SABS

(UK, military, historical) stabilized automatic bombsight


moonlight requisition

moonlight requisition (plural moonlight requisitions)

They were clever in finding local material, such as parachutes, for making bedcovers or curtains, and so-called "moonlight requisitions" were sources of supply for material to make furniture.

1966, Margaret Craighill, “The Women's Army Corps”, in Robert Anderson, Albert Glass, Robert Bernucci, William Mullins, editors, Neuropsychiatry in World War II, volume 1, →OCLC, page 468:

(military slang) Unauthorized taking of materiel; theft of supplies for use in one's own unit.


moonlight requisition

en-verb

moonlight requisition (third-person singular simple present moonlight requisitions, present participle moonlight requisitioning, simple past and past participle moonlight requisitioned)

moonlight requisitions (present singular third-person)
moonlight requisitioning (participle present)
moonlight requisitioned (participle past)
moonlight requisitioned (past)

The soldier learns informally in his basic military training experience to "moonlight requisition" or steal that which his unit needs.

1990, Clifton Bryant, “The social context”, in Deviant Behavior: Readings in the Sociology of Norm Violations, New York: Hemisphere, →ISBN, page 18:

(military slang) To steal or use materiel without authorization.


schoolgirl pin

This story involves a fight that leads to one girl face-sitting and dominating the other. If you aren't interested in reading about schoolgirl pins, face-sitting, smothering then please don't read this.

1997, cactus...@mailmasher.com, “REPOST: My Friend Tanya (ff,nc,smothering,face-sitting,schoolgirl pins)”, in alt.sex.fetish.wrestling (Usenet):

Kaitlyn hits a snap suplex and follows up with a schoolgirl pin for a two count. Kaitlyn goes for a backslide pin, but Tamina rolls through at one. Tamina rolls to the outside to catch a breather, but Kaitlyn catches her with a baseball slide.

2013, Trijcomm, “Kaitlyn defeats Tamina Snuka with a spear.”, in rec.sport.pro-wrestling (Usenet):

(wrestling) A pin in which the wrestler kneels over a fallen opponent's face so as to restrain the arms above the head.


moonsault

professional wrestling
professional wrestling

(professional wrestling) An attack where the wrestler faces away from the supine opponent and executes a backflip landing on the opponent in a splash/press position but facing towards the elevated position.


AWS

“The concern that these weapons might misidentify targets is the least of our worries,” he said. “More significant is the threat of an A.W.S. arms race and proliferation crisis.”

2021 June 3, Maria Cramer, quoting James Dawes, “A.I. Drone May Have Acted on Its Own in Attacking Fighters, U.N. Says”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

artificial intelligence
artificial intelligence

(military, robotics, artificial intelligence) Initialism of Autonomous Weapons System.


CHOP

en-noun

CHOP (countable and uncountable, plural CHOPs)

(military) Acronym of change of operational control.


fast mover

In order to bring in the jets, or fast movers, the artillery had to be shifted while the planes were in the area.

1993, Edward F. Murphy, Dak To: The 173d Airborne Brigade in South Vietnam's Central Highlands, June–November 1967, Random House Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 64:


UNDEX

(military) Abbreviation of underwater explosion.


airland

en-verb

airland (third-person singular simple present airlands, present participle airlanding, simple past and past participle airlanded)

airlands (present singular third-person)
airlanding (participle present)
airlanded (participle past)
airlanded (past)

(transitive, military) To transport (troops, etc.) to a place by aircraft, landing there rather than using parachutes.


superfight

Ken Shamrock (right) is the current owner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship superfight belt and will defend his title February 16 against Kimo Leopoldo.

1996 March, John P. Patton, “Royce Gracie's Biggest Rival: Ken Shamrock”, in Black Belt, volume 34, number 3, page 38:

Ali would go into that superfight symbolizing everything valuable and heroic, but I'm afraid he's getting the chance too late, after too many years of idleness.

1971, Jack Newfield, Bread and Roses Too, →ISBN, page 98:

Reid outpointed Australian Kevin Kelly and former WBC champ Keith Mullings in defenses and then met Felix Trinidad in a superfight on March 3, 2000, in Las Vegas.

2002, Nat Fleischer, Sam Andre, An Illustrated History of Boxing, →ISBN, page 441:

(boxing) A bout between two championship title holders.


field ration

(military) A prepackaged meal, easily prepared and eaten, carried by military troops on the battlefield.


assault course

(sports, military) A path for running, with a series of obstacles such as nets and walls, used for military training.


maj.

(military) Abbreviation of major (military rank).


MCI

en-noun

MCI (countable and uncountable, plural MCIs)

(US, military, food) Initialism of meal, combat, individual.


auxiliary cruiser

auxiliary cruiser (plural auxiliary cruisers)

(military, nautical) An armed merchantman, typically used as a commerce raider or as a convoy escort.

German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran
auxiliary cruiser


thirty-thirty

"What do you know about thirty-thirties?" "Huh, I know lots. My other pop was tellin' me you could git a man with a thirty a whole heap farther than you could with any ole forty-four or them guns. I shot heaps of rabbits with his."

1919, Hennry Herbert Knibbs, The Ridin' Kid from Powder River, page 16:

Now that the season has arrived in many parts of the country for the nimrods to load their trusty Thirty-Thirties and go forth in quest of the elusive deer, it seems an appropriate time to say a word about the skilleting of venison — which can be a pretty tough and dry proposition if not properly handled.

1960, The Cattleman, volume 47, page 46:

“I'll get one of those thirty-thirties out of the rack and slip her into the boat . Maybe we won't use it, and maybe we will . We might meet that Pirate Shark, you know!”

2014, Robert E. Howarad, The Pirate Story Megapack: 25 Classic and Modern Tales, page 2301:

(firearms) A thirty calibre firearm designed for cartridges that originally held thirty grains of smokeless powder.


PMA

Pakistan Military Academy
w:Pakistan Military Academy

(Pakistan, military) Initialism of Pakistan Military Academy.

Philippine Military Academy
w:Philippine Military Academy

(Philippines, military) Initialism of Philippine Military Academy.


under arms

They were preceded by a small party of the national guard, in their uniform, and under arms.

1792, Charlotte Smith, Desmond, Broadview, published 2001, page 325:

The Taliban have only about 40,000 men under arms.

(military) Equipped with weapons (of a country, army etc.); in a state of armed, military readiness.

aseissa

equipped with weapons; in a state of military readiness


wildcat cartridge

wildcat cartridge (plural wildcat cartridges)

(firearms) A cartridge modified from another calibre rather than being commercially produced.


play pussy

en-verb

play pussy (third-person singular simple present plays pussy, present participle playing pussy, simple past and past participle played pussy)

plays pussy (present singular third-person)
playing pussy (participle present)
played pussy (participle past)
played pussy (past)

(UK, military, slang) To conceal one's aircraft by taking advantage of cloud cover, moving from one cloud to another.


LIA

LIAs (plural)
L.I.A. (alternative)
L. I. A. (alternative)

(military fiction) Initialism of lost in action.


LIA

L.I.A. (alternative)
L. I. A. (alternative)

(military fiction) Initialism of lost-in-action.


KEW

kinetic energy weapon
kinetic energy weapon#English

(weaponry) Acronym of kinetic energy weapon.


Welrod

All clandestine equipment devised at Station IX in Welwyn Garden City had names starting with Wel, e.g. Welbike, Welman.

(firearms, historical) A British bolt-action, magazine-fed suppressed pistol devised during World War II.


Colonel

Consequently the necessity for the reorganization of the Guard, during the ten months’ absence of yourself and Colonels Smith and Banks, could not have been averted under our present Military Code.

1899 March 31, Geo[rge] W[esley] Atkinson, “Status of Members of National Guard, Who were Volunteers In the Spanish War.—Correspondence Between Governor Atkinson and General [Baldwin Day] Spilman.”, in Public Addresses, Etc., of Geo. W. Atkinson, LL. D., D. C. L., Governor of West Virginia, During His Term of Office. […], [Charleston, W.Va.]: […] Public Printer, published 1901, →OCLC, page 291:


double envelopment

en-noun

double envelopment (countable and uncountable, plural double envelopments)


EFP

EFP (countable and uncountable, plural EFPs)

The RAF device which killed Herrhausen is generally described as a platter charge, rather than an Iraq-style EFP. That's because the RAF are not thought to have had the skill to produce an EFP.

2008 July 29, David Hambling, “Superbomb Mystery: The Herrhausen Assassination”, in Wired, →ISSN:

explosively formed penetrator
explosively formed penetrator#English

(weaponry, countable) Initialism of explosively formed penetrator.


Dart

(UK, naval slang) An officer trained at Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, England.


myriarchy

/ˈmɪɹiˌɑɹki/

From myriarch + -y, after the pattern of heptarchy etc.; see myriarch for more. As a military unit, Calque of Mongolian түмэн (tümen).

(military) A regiment of 10,000 soldiers, especially (historical) a Mongolian toman.


close order drill

close order drill (countable and uncountable, plural close order drills)

close order drills (plural)
close-order drill (alternative)

Mr. Bosland said, “Close order drill may be OK in Nazi Germany, but we are here in America.”

2004, Arnold Von der Porten, 50 Years in America, →ISBN, page 186:

Garrison life and close order drills had never been my forte.

2007, James Megellas, All the Way to Berlin: A Paratrooper at War in Europe, →ISBN, page 340:

One of the areas that were most concentrated on at DI School was close order drill.

2008, Gregg Stoner, The Yellow Footprints to Hell and Back, →ISBN:

(military) Practice in marching, formations, and formal handling of arms carried out standing shoulder-to-shoulder and at attention.

tūmatohi

arranged in compact units for marching or drill - of troops


extended order drill

extended order drill (countable and uncountable, plural extended order drills)

extended order drills (plural)
extended-order drill (alternative)

The land now owned by the Government is too small for extended order drills and maneuvers and General Wood was very desirous of securing more room.

1977, Frank Everson Vandiver, Black Jack: The Life and Times of John J. Pershing, →ISBN:

To account for the exigencies of terrain, extended order drill was practised on different types of ground in platoon, company, or battalion-sized formations.

2008, Andrew Iarocci, Shoestring Soldiers: The 1st Canadian Division at War, 1914-1915, →ISBN, page 36:

Coming to the Fourteenth Pennsylvania he required them to go through certain movements in the extended order drill which not being done entirely to his satisfaction, he sent his orderly to the commanding officer of the Ninth Battalion, requesting him to have his command on the drill ground at once.

2014, T. G. Steward, Buffalo Soldiers: The Colored Regulars in the United States Army, →ISBN:

(military) Practice in battle formations and maneuvers.


helicopter carrier

helicopter carrier (plural helicopter carriers)

(military, aviation, nautical) A category of aircraft carrier designed to operate helicopters


Mother of all Bombs

From a reinterpretation of the acronym MOAB (originally for "Massive Ordnance Air Blast"), using the mother of all construction.

(military) A type of large-yield conventional bomb, the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast.


Father of all Bombs

In reference to the US Mother of all Bombs, which the Russian military sought to surpass.

(military) A type of Russian-designed, large-yield conventional bomb, the Aviation Thermobaric Bomb of Increased Power.


Buff

(UK, military, mostly in plural) A member of the Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment).


Makarov

Borrowed from Russian Макаров (Makarov). A transliteration of the Russian surname Макаров (Makarov).

name translit

(firearms) A Soviet service pistol, the PM

A Soviet service pistol, the PM
A Soviet Cold-War era service pistol

(firearms) A handgun deriving from the PM design pattern


Tokarev

(firearms) A Soviet service pistol, the TT-33 and TT-30

(firearms) A handgun deriving from the TT-30 design pattern


pyroballogy

A variant of pyrobology, from pyro- (prefix meaning ‘fire, heat’) (from Ancient Greek πῦρ (pûr, “fire; lightning”)) + Ancient Greek βάλλειν (bállein, “to throw”) + -logy (suffix indicating a branch of learning or study of a particular subject) (from Ancient Greek -λογῐ́ᾱ (-logĭ́ā), from λόγος (lógos, “word, speech; reason, reckoning; account, explanation”)). βάλλειν is derived from βᾰ́λλω (bắllō, “to hurl, throw; to strike, touch”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- (“to pierce; to throw, to hit by throwing”).

refn

From Codex Vindobonensis 3069, folio 11, recto, from the collection of the Austrian National Library in Vienna, Austria.

der

[H]e was enabled, by the help of ſome marginal documents at the feet of the elephant, together with Gobeſius’s military architecture and pyroballogy, tranſlated from the Flemiſh, to form his diſcourse with paſſable perſpicuity.

1759, [Laurence Sterne], chapter III, in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, 2nd (1st London) edition, volume II, London: […] R[obert] and J[ames] Dodsley […], published 1760, →OCLC, page 18:

[H]e threw a faithless cipher of moon into the sky, put beneath it a fatherless girl craving affection, and then helpless before the doom of his own contrivances watched in his mind, possibly on that very prom night or in a car parked on an overlook up in the Blue Ridge mountains, the hideous pyroballogy of some vile teenager with a hanging lip, his suspenders disengaged, prying off her gown with his grice-fingered hands and then bucking away like a country stink-cat, whereupon she— […]

1981, Alexander Theroux, Darconville’s Cat, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, →ISBN, page 137:

Pyroballogy, Lieutenant Drinkwater, is the art of throwing fire. 'Tis both scientific and alchemical, and that is why officers in my profession cannot purchase their commissions like the rest of the army, so it is. […] 'Tis an ancient art, this pyroballogy. Archimedes himself founded it at the siege of Syracuse and the Greeks had their own ballistic fireballs.

1984, Richard Woodman, “Powder and Shot: February 1801”, in The Bomb Vessel, London: John Murray, →ISBN; republished as The Bomb Vessel: A Nathaniel Drinkwater Novel (Mariner’s Library Fiction Classics), Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.: Sheridan House, 2000, →ISBN, part 1 (Tsar Paul), page 45:

And how, by what law of mechanics, can such decisions contribute to the maintenance of its gyration? It is that they are taken suddenly and violently: explosions of disgust. It is what's called repulsion, one of the forces most commonly employed in pyroballogy.

1985, Kris Hemensley, editor, The Best of The Ear: The Ear in a Wheatfield 1973–76: A Portrait of a Magazine, Melbourne, Vic.: Rigmarole Books, →ISBN, page 20:

Instead of clarifying the geometry of fortification, however, the treatises only bring confusion, such that Toby's attempts to follow the rules of pyroballogy result in his mistaking a parabola for a hyperbola, and so on.

2015, Anders Engberg-Pedersen, “The Geometry of War: Siege Architecture and Narrative Form”, in Empire of Chance: The Napoleonic Wars and the Disorder of Things, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, →ISBN:

(weaponry, obsolete, rare) The study of artillery; the practice of using artillery as a weapon.


smoke bomb

Smoke bombs would be used. The thick fumes resulting from their explosion between the lines would cover our advance.

1916, Patrick MacGill, chapter 3, in The Great Push: An Episode of the Great War, London: Herbert Jenkins, page 48:

Over every German battery would soar the observation plane indicating by tinsel or smoke bombs the location of the guns […]

1918, Willis J. Abbot, chapter 9, in Aircraft and Submarines: The Story of the Invention, Development, and Present-Day Uses of War’s Newest Weapons, New York: Putnam:

Margot would plant smoke-bombs in Kuno’s bedroom and then rush in to rescue him from the fumes.

1935, Christopher Isherwood, chapter 13, in Mr Norris Changes Trains, Penguin, published 1942, page 147:

The agent gave them the two camera-cases you saw. […] He told them that the blue case contained a very powerful smoke-bomb. The red case was the explosive. As one of them threw the red case, the other was to press a switch on the blue case and they would escape under cover of the smoke.

1953, Ian Fleming, chapter 9, in Casino Royale, London: Jonathan Cape:

(military) An explosive or incendiary device designed to produce smoke in order to mark a position or produce a smokescreen.


flying knee

The flying knee is one of the most powerful strikes that one human being can use on another, short of employing a weapon.

1967, John Danaher, Mastering Jujitsu, →ISBN, page 76:

Provided that it makes impact with the head, a flying knee offers substantial momentum and knockout power.

2010, Robert Hill, World of Martial Arts !, →ISBN:

Although charging in with a flying knee can be a reckless move, it does overcome somewhat the limited range of the front knee strike and has a proven track record in MMA fights of getting a quick knockout when fighers have managed to connect with the head.

2012, Ashley Martin, The Complete Martial Arts Training Manual, →ISBN:

(martial arts) A strike performed by jumping forward and hitting the opponent with the knee.


color guard

color guards (plural)
colour guard (alternative)

(military, scouting) A uniformed group, especially of soldiers, police officers, Scouts, or school representatives, who present their institution's flag (and sometimes other flags) on ceremonial occasions.


bunker-busting

(military) Having the penetrative quality of a bunker buster.


derank

en-verb

derank (third-person singular simple present deranks, present participle deranking, simple past and past participle deranked)

deranks (present singular third-person)
deranking (participle present)
deranked (participle past)
deranked (past)
de-rank (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-derank.wav

"I remember one time," he said, brushing my boots aside, "when I had trouble like this with an M.O. He was going to have me arrested and deranked and marched out and so on and so on. Nothin' came of it."

The uproarious laughter coming from the back of our truck provided small consolation although one kind hearted signaller did point out that it was an honour to be deranked by such a famous General.

1989 -, Lindsay Thompson, I Remember, page 10:

The common theme of the different pieces of Müller's Wolokolamsk Highway is a certain form of heroic stoicism which enables the protagonists to overcome their inhibition against hurting their own men in the name of socialism: The Russian commanders sentence and derank their comrades despite the fact that they are members of their party, and the East German functionaries respectively criticize and denounce their protege and adoptive son.

1997, Bernd-Rüdiger Hüppauf, War, Violence, and the Modern Condition, →ISBN, page 355:

Without any waste of time, he deranked all the officers of the Fifty-first Brigade from the rank of major to the rank of lieutenant.

2010, Obi N. Ignatius Ebbe, Broken Back Axle: Unspeakable Events in Biafra, →ISBN, page 139:


big blue blanket

(US, military, historical) A system used in World War II for protecting American warships from Japanese kamikaze attacks, involving (among other things) the constant presence of the blue-painted Hellcat and Corsair aircraft over the fleet at all times.


countervalue

countervalue (third-person singular simple present countervalues, present participle countervaluing, simple past and past participle countervalued)

countervalues (present singular third-person)
countervaluing (participle present)
countervalued (participle past)
countervalued (past)

From counter- + value. The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., records the first use of the word in 1660 and the first use in the modern sense in 1965, where it is described as a "euphemism for attacking cities".

(military) To target an opponent's assets which are of value but not actually a military threat, such as cities and civilian populations.


countervalue

(military) Targeting an opponent's assets which are of value but not actually a military threat, such as cities and civilian populations.


UFC

When Dana White barreled up to the microphone, at Donald Trump’s request, to say his piece on election night, it represented confirmation of the UFC CEO’s status as one of the key members of the president-elect’s inner circle.

2024 November 16, Aaron Timms, “How UFC head Dana White became the glue between Maga and the manosphere”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

Ultimate Fighting Championship
w:Ultimate Fighting Championship

(US, martial arts) Initialism of Ultimate Fighting Championship, an American mixed martial arts promotion company.


buttocker

It is a chip, however, always fraught with peril, as the slack hold of the buttocker, if he misses his aim, enables his opponent to gain a firmer grip, which he is certain to make the best use of in the commanding position in which he finds himself.

1889, Walter Armstrong, Wrestling, page 199:

(wrestling) One who uses the cross-buttock throw.


lantaka

lantakas (plural)
lantaca (alternative)
rentaka (alternative)

(historical, military) A kind of portable bronze cannon or swivel gun, sometimes mounted on merchant vessels and warships in Maritime Southeast Asia.


kill zone

You either kept distance or an obstacle between yourself and the engagement area, a buffer zone against the enemy's reaction from the kill zone.

2004, Charles W. Sasser, Craig Roberts, Crosshairs on the Kill Zone, →ISBN, page 90:

We had to get out of the kill zone if at all possible. We were also told if a truck in front of us gets hit and will not move, not to stop, but to go around it and get out of the kill zone.

2007, Gerald L. Hunt, The Kill Zone: Day to Day Convoys in Iraq, →ISBN, page 43:

Wolff radioed Dressler that the Russian had been driven from the first kill zone and was close to being driven from the second kill zone.

2014, Doug Eiderzen, The Ambiance of Victoria, →ISBN, page 322:

If time is available, the ambush group may prepare the kill zone with obstacles, booby traps, mines or trip flares.

2014, Chris McNab, Martin J. Dougherty, Combat Techniques: The Complete Guide to How Soldiers Fight Wars Today, Amber Books Ltd, →ISBN:

The American escort carriers turn south, passing right through what would have been 2nd Destroyer Division's kill zone. But, as a result of Kurita's orders, they, and their Long Lances, are still off to the north of the formation, looking for Kongō.

2019 February 27, Drachinifel, 19:38 from the start, in The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?, archived from the original on 2022-11-03:

(military) The area of engagement where an attack on the enemy is focused and which has the highest percentage of fatalities.


Bloggins

(Canada, military) A generic name placeholder


Nucflash

(US military) Code word indicating the actual or possible detonation of a nuclear weapon and consequent risk of an outbreak of nuclear war.

United States military nuclear incident terminology


augmentee

(US, military) A person assigned to a unit to provide particular skills or to make up for a staff shortage.


PMC

(military) Initialism of private military company or corporation.

That the PMCs working in Iraq operate in a legal black hole is, in my mind, a huge problem but also an eminently solvable one.

2007 September 29, Matthew Yglesias, “The Case for PMCs?”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 2025-06-04:

The first time he ever shot somebody, and knew about it, “was as a PMC. The firefights were a lot closer, a lot more personal.”

2016 February 6, Emine Saner, quoting Stephen Friday, “The return of the dogs of war: what's it like to be a soldier for hire?”, in The Guardian:

(military) Initialism of private military contractor.


PMC

People's Mobilization Committee
w:Popular Mobilization Forces

(military) Initialism of People's Mobilization Committee.

(military) Initialism of President of the Mess Committee.

Philippine Marine Corps
w:Philippine Marine Corps

(Philippines, military) Initialism of Philippine Marine Corps.


WRA

(military) Initialism of weapons release authorization.


KAR

King's African Rifles
w:King's African Rifles

(military, historical) Initialism of King's African Rifles.


scrub gun

(Australia, firearms, informal) a short firearm, designed for use in dense foliage.


green army

'We'll get the green army to keep an eye on the place, make sure there's not too much activity while our backs are turned,' said the ops officer.

1998, Catherine Jones, Sisters In Arms, →ISBN:

Roger that. Feds and green army are blue lighting to you.

2014, James Rennie, The Operators, Pen and Sword, →ISBN:

Frodsham and his guard fell in alongside Tiger and Mack, Mack flicked the safety off his L85; an unreliable piece of crap that the green army troopers hated, and the SAS had replaced with M16's and then C8 SFW carbines.

2014, Josef Black, SAS Special Operations Force (The Blades; 1), NYXZU Digital Press, →ISBN:

(UK, military slang) The regular army, not including any special forces.


Iskander

Borrowed from Russian Искандер (Iskander), ultimately from the Arabic name in etymology 1 above.

bor+

(military) 9K720 Iskander (Russian ballistic missile)


IMT

(law, military) Initialism of International Military Tribunal


TRADOC

w:United States Army Training and Doctrine Command

(US, military) Abbreviation of United States Army Training and Doctrine Command.


listening watch

en-noun

listening watch (plural listening watches)

1950, Neville Shute, The Legacy (UK title: A Town Like Alice), New York: William Morrow & Co., Chapter 10, p. 278,
“ […] It’s okay here if you want to close down your listening watch for tonight, Jackie. I’d like to have a listening watch in daylight hours tomorrow, from seven o’clock on. Is this Roger? Over.”

(military, aviation) Continuous monitoring for incoming communications.


CFA

(US, military) Initialism of candidate fitness assessment.


superplex

(professional wrestling) A suplex performed by an attacker standing on the second or third rope against an opponent sitting on the top rope or top turnbuckle.


superplex

en-verb

superplex (third-person singular simple present superplexes, present participle superplexing, simple past and past participle superplexed)

superplexes (present singular third-person)
superplexing (participle present)
superplexed (participle past)
superplexed (past)

(professional wrestling) To attack with a superplex.


IRF

Immediate Response Force
w:Immediate Response Force

(US military) Initialism of Immediate Response Force.


QRF

(military, US) Initialism of quick react(ion(ary))/response force. An armed military term to define a unit capable of rapidly responding to developing situations, typically to assist allied units in need of such assistance.


tellurocracy

en-noun

tellurocracy (countable and uncountable, plural tellurocracies)

From telluro- + -cracy. Coined by Russian political activist and philosopher Alexander Dugin.

coinage

Coordinate term: thalassocracy

Probably the United States has realized, a bit too late, that its stake on a pro-Pakistan regime in Afghanistan had been a mistake. Obviously, this was done not for the sake of stake itself: the strategic aim was to penetrate the Heartland. From the point of view of the tellurocracy versus thalassocracy opposition a maritime power (the US) may entrench itself in the IRAFPAK zone.

2000, Farhad Tolipov, “Geopolitical Stalemate in Afghanistan”, in Central Asia and the Caucasus:

Historically, Russians did not immediately realize the significance of their location and only accepted the baton of tellurocracy after the Mongolian conquests of Ghengis Khan, whose empire was a model of tellurocracy.

2015, Alexander Dugin, Last War of the World-Island: The Geopolitics of Contemporary Russia, →ISBN:

A union of Russia and several different Asian countries would represent the cultural values of tellurocracy, in opposing the movement toward neo-liberal globalization that is at the center of the constellation of maritime powers that is guided by the United States.

2015, Patricia Anne Simpson, Helga Druxes, Digital Media Strategies of the Far Right in Europe and the United States, →ISBN:

(geopolitics, military) Dominance or supremacy due to military or commercial power on land.


eyes right

/ˈaɪ̯z ˈɹaɪ̯t/

/ˈaɪ̯.əz ˈɹaɪ̯t/

(military) A command to a group of soldiers to turn their heads right towards a superior officer.

Augen rechts

distinguished from die Augen links with the article


eyes right

/ˈaɪ̯z ˈɹaɪ̯t/

/ˈaɪ̯.əz ˈɹaɪ̯t/

[…] they had marched past Poincaré at Peterhof, the Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich stepping it out on the right flank with his perfect martial bearing and an air of desperate bravery about him, saluting and giving this honored guest eyes right.

1989, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, translated by H. T. Willetts, August 1914, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, →ISBN, page 225:

(military) A salute given by a group of marching soldiers in the above way to an officier or dignitary.


fire controlman

en-noun

fire controlman (plural fire controlmen)

(US, military) A member of the Navy who carries out repairs and maintenance on weapons, computers, and other equipment.


zaptié

(military, hisotircal) A gendarme / carabineer in Italian colonies of the Ottoman Empire


enemy line

50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division
British Army
Gold Beach
Invasion of Normandy
La Rivière-Saint-Sauveur
Landing Craft Infantry

The approach at Trafalgar was from the windward, but Vice Admiral [Cuthbert] Collingwood did order his division to deploy in line of bearing so that the enemy line would be cut in many places, and engaged from the other side, or both sides.

1996, Nicholas Tracy, “The Battle of Trafalgar”, in Nelson’s Battles: The Art of Victory in the Age of Sail, London: Chatham Publ., →ISBN; republished as Nelson’s Battles: The Triumph of British Seapower, Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Seaforth Publishing, Pen and Sword Books, 2008, →ISBN, page 215:

Once the two fleets had met, it was then likely, if not inevitable, that only some of the attacking fleet would make it through the enemy line.

2008, Sam Willis, “Fleet Tactics”, in Fighting at Sea in the Eighteenth Century: The Art of Sailing Warfare, Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Boydell Press, →ISBN, page 132:

With this assault they drive back the thin enemy line, pressing forward through the disordered enemy.

2011, Sam Koon, “Phalanx and Legion: The ‘Face’ of Punic War Battle”, in Dexter Hoyos, editor, A Companion to the Punic Wars (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World), Malden, Kingston upon Thames: Wiley-Blackwell, →ISBN; paperback edition, Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2015, →ISBN, page 90:

(military) The line of battle of one's enemy.

The aviation service can, in two hours, go 100 miles back of enemy lines and return, bringing important information.

1917, Aircraft Journal, volume 1, page 17:

As we Christians serve our Lord and Master in this world, we are living and working behind enemy lines.

1994, Charles H. Kraft with Mark White, editors, Behind Enemy Lines: An Advanced Guide to Spiritual Warfare, Ann Arbor, Mich.: Vine Books, →ISBN, page 7:

There are, however, other practitioners of magic in the cycle that have no concern for God or for the good; the genealogy of this enemy knowledge is clear, and serves as a memorable cautionary tale. For Merlin himself founds this enemy line by dint of a horrendous pedagogical error: victim of the entirely natural magic of falling in love, Merlin teaches Vivian "tel cose quil ne uaut onques a autrui ensegnier", thus signing his own death warrant.

1998, Kathryn Karczewska, Prophecy and the Quest for the Holy Grail: Critiquing Knowledge in the Vulgate Cycle (Studies in the Humanities; 37), New York, N.Y.: Peter Lang, →ISBN, page 92:

Within these (fictional) enemy lines—on the model perhaps of the "amity lines" described by Carl Schmitt—there could emerge the following questions: What is an enemy? Does the term "enemy" gather (or disseminate) a multiplicity of enemies (for the senses of "enemy" are just as many as its figures, as Aristotle would perhaps say)?

2003, Gil Anidjar, “De Inimicitia”, in The Jew, the Arab: A History of the Enemy (Cultural Memory in the Present), Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, →ISBN, page 61:

We battle through life to get to God's promise for us. The devil frustrates our effort in that regard, because he knows that if you manage to cross the Red Sea and battle the enemy behind, after you climb the mountains, you will have made it to the Promised Land. So why would he make it that easy for you? he thinks. But there's no good reason to hand him over the victory by staying behind the enemy line after you've been rescued.

2010 November 3, Christiana I. Chineme, “The Negative Side of Pain”, in God Didn’t Do It; He Only Signed Off On It: Living a Purposeful Life through the Storm, Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, →ISBN, part II (Some of the Reasons God Takes Us through Trials and Tribulations), page 142:

(military, also figuratively, usually in the plural) The boundary of the territory controlled by the enemy.


chain shot

chain shot (countable and uncountable, plural chain shots)

chain shots (plural)
chain-shot (alternative)
chainshot (alternative)

(historical, military, nautical) A projectile consisting of two cannon balls or half balls linked by a chain, fired from cannons mostly to attack spars and rigging.

kettingkogel

projectile consisting of two cannon balls linked by a chain


(US, military) A personnel file detailing the background and history of a member of the United States armed forces.


slit trench

(military) A narrow defensive trench sufficient for one or two soldiers.


NCOIC

non-commissioned officer
non-commissioned officer#English

(military) Abbreviation of NCO-in-charge. (non-commissioned officer)


USAMU

(US, military) Abbreviation of United States Army Marksmanship Unit.


USAMRIID

Infectious Diseases
infectious disease#English

(US, military, pathology) Abbreviation of United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases.

U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases


barracks lawyer

barracks lawyer (plural barracks lawyers)

"'Life?' Do you call this 'life,' you barracks lawyer?" he growled in his bronzed Adam's apple.

1912 September, Clarence L. Cullen, “The Hangman and Pedro Salazar”, in Munsey's Magazine, volume XLVII, number 6, page 944, column 1:


bag nasty

Coordinate term: box nasty

(military slang) A packed lunch supplied in a bag.


INDOC

(US, military) Abbreviation of indoctrination.


bump stock

bump stocks (plural)
bumpstock (alternative)
bump-stock (alternative)

(firearms) An attachment on a gun used to make it fire repeatedly by using the gun's recoil to pull the trigger, modifying it to function in a similar way to a machine gun.


sand table

(military) A sandbox raised on legs for soldiers to play and plan tactics.


He was wearing the normal jungle fatigues and had a .45 in a holster on his waist.

2013, T. Van Ewell, Recon Airplane Company: III Corps, Vietnam, page 182:

(firearms) A standard kind of firearm designed to fire bullets that are approximately 0.45 inch in diameter.


I had hoped that he had a .38 on him but that wasn't the case.

2012, Arnie Greenberg, A Fine Conundrum: A 'Joey Fine' Mystery, page 165:

(firearms) A standard kind of firearm designed to fire bullets that are approximately 0.38 inch in diameter.


I would rather have a .22 than an axe or a club, that's for sure

2001, Chilco Choate, The Fire Still Burns: A Life of Trail Talk and Contrary Opinions, page 29:

(firearms) A firearm chambered for a .22-caliber rimfire cartridge.


ACMI

(aviation, military) Initialism of air combat maneuvering instrumentation.


butt spike

Meanwhile, the men in the middle and rear pushed those in front, while simultaneously providing cover from javelins and arrows with their raised pikes and stabbing fallen adversaries with the butt spikes.

2002, Robert L. O'Connell, Soul of the Sword: An Illustrated History of Weaponry and Warfare from Prehistory to the Present:

(historical, weaponry) A small blade or spike on the rear end of a spear, used as a counterbalance and as a backup if the spear broke.


weight class

(martial arts) A division of competition used to match competitors against others of their own weight


half-pike

1709-1711, The Tatler
paying the Salute with the Halfpike

(military) A short pike, sometimes carried by officers of infantry, sometimes used in boarding ships; a spontoon


loggie

To successfully plan and execute a rapid response package, the loggie must be brought in at the earliest stage of planning.

2000, Air Force journal of logistics, volume 24, number 3, page 40:

(slang, often military) A person who works in logistics.


CTCRM

w:Commando Training Centre Royal Marines

(UK, military) Initialism of Commando Training Centre Royal Marines.


death slide

If you've planned for an army regiment to set up zip wires and death slides in the beautiful grounds of a large country house for a sales conference activity, do ensure that the country house is agreeable and get the confirmation in writing!

2012, Simon Maier, In Any Event: Top Tips on Managing Any Corporate Event, page 57:


brown-water navy

brown-water navy (plural brown-water navies)

Gunboats and other vessels with shallow drafts that could navigate inland waterways were part of the Civil War's brown-water navies.

2005, Clifford L. Linedecker, Civil War, A to Z: The Complete Handbook of America's Bloodiest Conflict, page 57:

(military, nautical, loosely) A naval force capable of military operations in riverine and coastal environments.

(military, nautical, strictly) A naval force capable of military operations only in inland waters.

(military, nautical) The portion of a naval force that is optimized for riverine operations.


mountain leader

mountain leader (plural mountain leaders)

(military) A military operative who specializes in leading, or delivering training for, operations at high altitudes or very low temperatures.


zero fighter

/ˈzɪəɹəʊ faɪ.tə(ɹ)/

I was a zero fighter too before November last year. My dad installed a doorway bar and every time I did lots and lots of assisted pull-ups. A week later, I could pull one and could reach 4 by the end of the year.

2004 October 30, “Help on Pull up!!!”, in SgForums (site), retrieved 2017-10-18:

I used to be a zero fighter, which meant my chin-ups count was a mere zero – I couldn’t lift up my 72kg body up the bar when I first enlisted.

2010 January 10, Sithu, “Chin up: How to increase your chin up reps?”, in NS'S DIGEST (blog), retrieved 2017-10-18:

Whether you are a zero fighter (you cannot do a single chin-up) or someone who can do enough to meet the IPPT gold standard, you will find a chin-up style suited to your current level of fitness.

2010 November 2, “The Complete Chin-Up Guide”, in Men's Health, Singapore (site), archived from the original on 2017-06-15:

Being physically not so fit since young, I struggled myself during my Basic Military Training time, without being able to pass my IPPT or SOC. I was a zero-fighter for chin-up during IPPT (i.e. I couldn’t do any).

2013, “NDP 2013 - Singapore My Story Competition Submission”, in Singapore Memory Project, Singapore (blog), retrieved 2017-10-18:

If you’re a ‘zero-fighter’, the underhand grip makes it easier for you to earn your first rep.

2014 June 18, “Over- or Underhand: The Best Way To Clear The Pull-up Station”, in Men's Health, Singapore (site), archived from the original on 2017-10-03:

I stared in awe as my army mates did 20 pull-ups at one go. I decided that I had to work on my fitness again. The memory of being mocked as a "zero fighter" still haunts me and motivates me to push the limit.

2015 August 4, Joan Chew, The Straits Times, Singapore, retrieved 2017-10-18:

(Singapore, usually military) A person who is unable to perform a single pull-up or chin-up.


ninja van

From ninja, referring to the way they stealthily appear + van.

When you are in the middle of a godforsaken exercise area, dying of heat and sick of combat rations, the Ninja Van with its supply of cold canned drinks, junk food, and beehoon is like seeing an oasis.

2010 September 9, “Hitler Finds Out about his NS Recognition Award: Comments”, in The Mr Brown Show (blog), archived from the original on 2017-04-30:

The arrival of the ninja van, with its fried bee hoon, nasi lemak and soft drinks, was perhaps the best consolation in an otherwise boring range where sections of trainees sat on long wooden benches waiting for their turns.

2013 May 1, “Once in Our Life, Two Years of Our Time”, in Remember Singapore (blog), retrieved 2017-10-18:

Not sure if your unit/exercise involves you being in the mountains, but if it does, there are these food vans that we called "ninja vans", because they turn up out of nowhere; you don't find them, they find you.

2014 August 12, “I am going to Taiwan for NS! Advice please?”, in Reddit Singapore (site), retrieved 2017-10-18:

For any Singaporean who has been conscripted for National Service in the Singapore Armed Forces, the phrase ‘ninja van’ should immediately conjure up images of a pop-up food stall on wheels, stealthily appearing out in the field when tired bodies are in need of sustenance.

2015 September 25, Colin Tung, “Four hours of sleep is enough, there is never nothing to do: Ninja Van CEO”, in Yahoo! News (site), retrieved 2017-10-18:

Stocked with snacks and drinks, the ninja van is a welcome sight for any soldiers doing outfield activities.

2017 May 31, “Ninja Van: A snack-laden van which always shows up when we need it the most”, in SAFRA SG Instagram (blog), retrieved 2017-10-18:

(Singapore, informal, military) A pop-up food van that appears during field training to sell food and drinks to soldiers.


LOH

(US military aviation) Acronym of light observation helicopter.


boodle fight

From boodle (“candy and snacks”, U.S. Military West Point Academy slang) + fight, initially adopted from the U.S. Military Academy by the Philippine Military Academy, which spread across the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) before spreading to the populace.

compound

(Philippines, military) A large communal meal where food is placed directly on top of banana leaves across a long table where diners typically eat standing with their hands or plastic gloves, usually without cutlery.

AFP
Philippine Military Academy
U.S. Military Academy
West Point Academy
boodle fight


IWB

(firearms) Initialism of inside the waistband.


cease fire

(military) Stop engaging in hostile acts, particularly those involving firearms. A command that troops end the existing status of engaging in hostile action.


LML

(military) Initialism of lightweight multiple launcher.


fail-deadly

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-fail-deadly.wav

From fail + deadly, modelled on fail-safe.

(military) In nuclear weapons strategy: encouraging deterrence by guaranteeing an immediate, automatic, and overwhelming response to an attack, even if the command-and-control infrastructure has been damaged by the enemy's first strike.


suck the monkey

en-verb

suck the monkey (third-person singular simple present sucks the monkey, present participle sucking the monkey, simple past and past participle sucked the monkey)

sucks the monkey (present singular third-person)
sucking the monkey (participle present)
sucked the monkey (participle past)
sucked the monkey (past)

A new farce, called "The Wigwam," was produced at the Lyceum Theatre on Monday night. [...] As might naturally be expected, Cora has another lover, one Mingo (Mr. Oxberry), known as the "Monkey's Uncle," from his habit of "sucking the monkey."

1847 January 31, “Lyceum Theatre”, in The Observer, London: William [Innell] Clement, →OCLC, page 5, column 3:

(naval slang) To surreptitiously drink alcohol from a cask through an inserted tube.


water battery

(military) A battery nearly on a level with the water.


take the shilling

take the shilling (third-person singular simple present takes the shilling, present participle taking the shilling, simple past took the shilling, past participle taken the shilling)

takes the shilling (present singular third-person)
taking the shilling (participle present)
took the shilling (past)
taken the shilling (participle past)

/teɪk ðə ˈʃɪlɪŋ/

A reference to the practice during the 18th and 19th century of a recruiting officer getting a person to enlist in the British Army or Royal Navy by accepting (or being tricked into accepting) a shilling, which was then a soldier’s daily pay. The practice was officially ended in 1879.

[O]ne fellow was jilted by his miſtreſs and took the ſhilling in deſpair; […]

1852, William Makepeace Thackeray, “Mohun Appears for the Last Time in This History”, in The History of Henry Esmond, Esq. […] , volume III, London: […] Smith, Elder, & Company, […], →OCLC, page 135:

I have taken the King's shilling, but perhaps if you came for me they would let me go back with you. I was a fool when I did it. I don't want to be in the army.

1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “Strife in Love”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC, part II, page 182:

(British, military, historical) To enlist as a soldier in the British army or navy by accepting a shilling from a recruiting officer.

värväytyä šillingistä

to enlist as a soldier in the British army or navy by accepting a shilling from a recruiting officer

(military, dated) To enlist as a soldier of any military force; to join the armed forces.


torpedo net

(military, historical) A net hung from a ship by means of horizontal booms, designed to cause an attacker's torpedo to explode some distance away from the hull.


SLAM

en-noun

SLAM (countable and uncountable, plural SLAMs)

supersonic low altitude missile
supersonic low altitude missile#English

(military, aviation, weaponry) Acronym of supersonic low altitude missile.

stand-off land attack missile
stand-off land attack missile#English

(military, aviation, weaponry) Acronym of stand-off land attack missile.


outdeploy

en-verb

outdeploy (third-person singular simple present outdeploys, present participle outdeploying, simple past and past participle outdeployed)

outdeploys (present singular third-person)
outdeploying (participle present)
outdeployed (participle past)
outdeployed (past)

(military) To deploy more weaponry than an opponent or enemy


nickelling

Further trials were carried out to establish their accuracy life and whether they developed any tendency to nickelling under Service conditions.

1962, Edmund George Barton Reynolds, The Lee-Enfield Rifle, page 158:

(firearms) The metallic fouling of a gun's bore with fragments of bullet casing.


stand-down

(military) A time when soldiers are not on alert


risbank

(military, historical) A piece of ground upon which a fort is constructed to defend a post.


facelock

He raised his right arm and clamped a facelock on his opponent.

1995, Gordon D. Shirreffs, The Ghost Dancers, →ISBN, page 146:

I stepped to the side like the world's worst matador and grabbed him in a front facelock. It was the only shoot hold I knew, one that harkened back to my days bouncing at Malarkey's in Calgary.

2011, Chris Jericho, Undisputed: How to Become World Champion in 1,372 Easy Steps, →ISBN:

Eventually, someone said, “OK, move the furniture, and let's wrestle.” The deal this night was Les challenging my dad, saying, “Bet you can't hold me in a front facelock.” My dad put the hold on, and Les struggled to free himself, but ended up passing out after a few minutes.

2012, Terry Funk, Scott E. Williams, Terry Funk: More Than Just Hardcore, →ISBN:

(wrestling) A type of headlock in which the opponent's head is clamped around the face.


eschel

From Middle English eschele, from Old French eschele, eschelle, esciele, eskiele, variants of Old French esquiere, scare ( > modern French échauguette), from Frankish *skaru, from Proto-Germanic *skarō (“a portion, share, division, troop”). Cognate with German Schar. Doublet of share.

der

(military, rare or obsolete) A troop or company.


DONSA

(military) Initialism of day of no scheduled activities.


headscissors

While he was distracted, the Puma ran the length of the ring, leapt into the air and locked both legs around Diablo's neck, taking him down to the mat with a spectacular flying headscissors.

2002, Greg F. Gifune, Night Work, →ISBN:

professional wrestling
professional wrestling

(professional wrestling) A hold in which a wrestler wraps his or her legs around either side of the opponent's head, crossing them under the opponent's chin, and squeezing.


reconnaissance in force

en-noun

reconnaissance in force (countable and uncountable, plural reconnaissances in force)

(military) an attack by a (usually small) body of troops in order to gauge the strength of enemy defences (and make local gains if possible)


heel-and-toe

It is most essential on a passage where the watches are heel and toe, four on, four off, that the watch below be a time of real rest.

1965, Boating (volume 18, numbers 1-6, page 28)

Back when we'd started the heel-and-toe watches, I'd offset the schedule six hours in order to have both squadrons up and ready during the initial attack.

2011, Phil Geusz, No Victory Won, page 354:

(nautical, military) Of a system of watches: comprising equal-length periods on and off watch.


lay a glove on

en-verb

lay a glove on (third-person singular simple present lays a glove on, present participle laying a glove on, simple past and past participle laid a glove on)

lays a glove on (present singular third-person)
laying a glove on (participle present)
laid a glove on (participle past)
laid a glove on (past)

From the sport of boxing, referring to managing to hit someone with one's boxing glove.

“You were so good he couldn't lay a glove on you. You were terrific. He tired to hit you with his knockout punch but you skillfully avoided it - do you remember how his glove whistled harmlessly past your head?

2004, Morris Katz, The Journey, →ISBN, page 78:

In round three, Toxa moved in and out jabbing, scoring often with the bigger man unable to lay a glove on him.

2012, Roland Perry, The Changi Brownlow, →ISBN:

Umbertino couldn't lay a glove on him. Big as he was, all it would have taken was a punch, a single roundhouse and he would have decked him. But the other guy was a grasshopper.

2014, Davide Enia, On Earth as It Is in Heaven: A Novel, →ISBN, page 42:


F/L

flight lieutenant
flight lieutenant#English

(military, aviation) Abbreviation of flight lieutenant.


flying camp

(military) A body of troops for rapid motion from one place to another.


deblouse

deblouse (third-person singular simple present deblouses, present participle deblousing, simple past and past participle debloused)

deblouses (present singular third-person)
deblousing (participle present)
debloused (participle past)
debloused (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-deblouse.wav

Everybody had debloused their pants long ago to get air circulating.

2013, Sean M. Maloney, Fighting for Afghanistan: A Rogue Historian at War, →ISBN:

(military) To untuck one's trousers from one's boots; unblouse.


ABDA

(historical, military) Acronym of American-British-Dutch-Australian Command, a committee of senior military officials during the expected Japanese invasion of Australia in 1942.


Red Shirt

Red Shirts (plural)
red shirt (alternative)
red-shirt (alternative)

The Red Shirts are 'Ordies', or ordnance handlers.

1997, Peter Darman, Warfare at Sea, →ISBN, page 74:

The red lights of the Red Shirts joined the probing.

1988, George C. Wilson, Supercarrier: an inside account of life aboard the world's most powerful ship, the USS John F. Kenedy, →ISBN:

The Red Shirts were the serious ones: they loaded and armed the weapons on the aircraft.

2011, Max Gallimore, From Here to Caprock, →ISBN, page 266:

(US navy) Alternative form of redshirt (“sailor who handles ordinance”)


SERE

(military) Acronym of survival, evasion, resistance, and escape (“training to prepare Western forces to survive when evading or captured”)


jeep carrier

(military, nautical, aviation) A general purpose aircraft carrier, used in a variety of ways (hence 'general purpose', "GP" or jeep), such as aircraft transport ship, invasion support airstrip, ocean patrol airstrip, fleet/convoy defense airstrip. They were used to alleviate demands made on fleet carriers which have higher levels of defensive capabilities and underway speeds able to keep up with the battle fleet.


body wire

(fencing) The insulated wire that runs under a fencer's jacket, connecting the Electrical Competition weapon to the reel, and thence to the scoring machine.


sentiment du fer

Borrowed from French sentiment du fer (literally “feeling of the iron”).

bor

(fencing) The ability to feel along the length of a fencing sword through holding only the weapon's grip, a quality of an experienced fencer.


camo up

en-verb

camo up (third-person singular simple present camos up, present participle camoing up, simple past and past participle camoed up)

camos up (present singular third-person)
camoing up (participle present)
camoed up (participle past)
camoed up (past)

Ultimately from camouflage, of camo plus the aspect marker up.

The week prior to the Army-Navy game is anything goes at West Point. Cadets and hard-core instructors “camo up” and wear BDUs (battle dress uniforms) in preparation for the looming clash of the mighty Army black knights and the wimpy, undisciplined Navy midshipmen.

1998 December 5, “A Civil War”, in West Palm Beach Post, page 6E:

[…] No one told them anything about camo, and it takes them ten minutes to do it right.” ¶ “Well, we have five minutes and everyone has to camo-up,” the first sergeant explained patiently.

2010, Greg Hastings, “You must lead yourself first”, in Doug Crandall, editor, Leadership Lessons from West Point, page 38:

(informal, military, hunting) To put on clothing, make-up, etc. with a camouflage pattern, to wear camouflage.

The plan is to have the veterinarian “camo up,” maybe by using a hunting blind, he said, to get close enough to take a shot with a tranquilizer gun.

2009 April 4, Nick Ferraro, “Fans, police, veterinarian hope to rescue Oreo the goat”, in St. Paul Pioneer Press, Dakota County local:

(informal, military, hunting) To camouflage one's person or equipment, to hide or obscure from view.


pointy head

pointy heads (plural)
pointyhead (alternative)
pointy-head (alternative)

(military, slang) A member of military intelligence.


comshaw

en-noun

comshaw (countable and uncountable, plural comshaws)

From Hokkien 感謝 /感谢 (kám-siā, “thanks”).

The practice was so common it was no longer considered stealing. It was comshaw. That kind of thinking made the Iran/Contra arms scandal and Watergate okay at the time. It's comshaw when you do it, but it's stealing when you get caught; it's politics when you do it, but it's illegal when you're found out.

1990, Jay Carty, Something's Fishy: Getting Rid of the Carp in Your Life, →ISBN, page 145:

Mostly by way of "comshaw," a sailor's term for bartering, but it was usually a coffee grounds deal at LBNS.

2002, Ed Goodrich, Riggers that dive, page 53:

I was able to accomplish these comshaw and midnight small stories because my crew and I knew what we needed! If there were items, which our ship required, left abandoned anywhere, those items were ours. Perhaps the thing that made our activities to recover beached small boats or the comshaw of items from the navy supply depot so easy was the fact that my entire salvage crew was with me on this LST.

2013, James Carl Duncan, Adventures of a Tennessean, →ISBN, page 125:

What a day! Started off with early comshaw run to 2/5—got 2 jackets, 1 boots. Gave 1 jacket to SSgt. Lelansky.

2017, Jean Shellenbarger, The 9th Engineer Battalion, First Marine Division, in Vietnam, →ISBN, page 35:

(naval slang) The practice of pilfering or bartering for surplus items.


comshaw

en-verb

comshaw (third-person singular simple present comshaws, present participle comshawing, simple past and past participle comshawed)

comshaws (present singular third-person)
comshawing (participle present)
comshawed (participle past)
comshawed (past)

Chips in Las Vegas are as negotiable as green money. You can take them into any club and cash them in for money, for $5 or $10 or whatever it is. So all you've got to do is put a chip in the end of your fingers, turn your hand down like you're trying to touch your wrist, and you can comshaw — or steal — comshaw is a much better word — a $25 chip from a table.

1972, Bruce Jackson, In the life: versions of the criminal experience, page 124:

As soon as she was recommissioned Com7thFleet had comshawed her for his flagship.

2000, Richard Winston, The Gundeckers: A Description of the Michigamme Mutiny, →ISBN, page 99:

He was able to "comshaw" (as they say in the US Navy) the cable from the German engineers at a nearby dam.

2008, Janice Minott, Letters from Kabul 1966-1968: A Memoir, →ISBN, page 119:

Oh, yes, did I mention I comshawed (somewhere between “borrowed” and “stole”) a large map of the US. and plotted my way home?

2013, Dorien Grey, A World Ago: A Navy Man's Letters Home (1954-1956), →ISBN, page 206:

His anger is somewhat satiated by the presence of an amazing arsenal of Special Operations weapons he has managed to beg, borrow and otherwise comshaw.

2014, C. Edward Samuels, Blood & Roses, →ISBN, page 350:

(naval slang) To acquire without officially requisitioning; to pilfer or barter for surplus items.


general officer

en-noun

general officer (plural general officers)

The former of these young men had been adopted by his uncle, who, after a life passed in the army, had died a general officer at a very advanced age, and had left his nephew his whole fortune […].

1791, Charlotte Smith, Celestina, Broadview, published 2004, page 177:

(military) An officer above the rank of colonel.


OPCW

w:Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

(law, military) Initialism of Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.


cocoa powder

cocoa powder (usually uncountable, plural cocoa powders)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-cocoa powder.wav

(firearms) A form of brown gunpowder, also known as brown powder.


knifehand

(martial arts, often attributive) A strike using the part of the hand opposite the thumb (from the little finger to the wrist); a karate chop.


carqual

(US, military) Abbreviation of carrier qualification: a series of test maneuvers by which a ship demonstrates its fitness for sea duty.


Tomcatter

(US, military, slang) A member of VFA-31, a strike fighter squadron of the US Navy.


SIB

Special Investigation Branch
w:Special Investigation Branch

(UK, military) Initialism of Special Investigation Branch.


SHAEF

w:Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force

(military, historical) Initialism of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force.


tuck up

en-verb

tuck up (third-person singular simple present tucks up, present participle tucking up, simple past and past participle tucked up)

tucks up (present singular third-person)
tucking up (participle present)
tucked up (participle past)
tucked up (past)

(intransitive, boxing) To protect one's face by covering it with the gloves


foxer

Originally the code name for a British-built version of the device.

(military, historical) An acoustic decoy used to confuse acoustic homing torpedoes by mechanically generating a loud noise while being towed some distance behind a ship.


VIRSS

(military) Initialism of visual and infrared screening smoke.


QRs

Queen's Regulations
w:King's Regulations

(UK, military) Abbreviation of Queen's Regulations.


RSAF

Republic of Singapore Air Force
w:Republic of Singapore Air Force

(Singapore, military, aviation) Initialism of Republic of Singapore Air Force.

Royal Saudi Air Force
w:Royal Saudi Air Force

(military, aviation) Initialism of Royal Saudi Air Force.


TESEX

(military) Acronym of tactical engagement simulation exercise.


local board

(military) A civilian board that signs people up for military service in a particular area.


PEBLO

(US, military) Acronym of physical evaluation board liaison officer.


JROTC

/d͡ʒeɪ ɑː(ɹ)əʊ tiː siː/

J.R.O.T.C. programs, taught by military veterans at some 3,500 high schools across the country, are supposed to be elective, and the Pentagon has said that requiring students to take them goes against its guidelines.

2022 December 11, Mike Baker, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Ilana Marcus, “Thousands of Teens Are Being Pushed Into Military’s Junior R.O.T.C.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

w:Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps

(US, military) Initialism of Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps.


finger fan

During gaps of combinations, insert: 1. non-commitements to distract the opponent, or to improve positioning or the flow. 2. delicacy to score without destroying the overall balance and flow of the combination (finger jabs, finger fan, finger flicks, backhand, palm thrust).

1977 February, “Bruce Lee's Attack Strategies for Fighting (Part II)”, in Black Belt, volume 15, number 2, page 60:

In truth, people who require fine use of their hands in their work (artists, surgeons, typists) may favor using palm strikes and finger fans over the more demanding fist or single-finger strikes.

(martial arts) A blow delivered to the face with fingers spread.


stab-rag

In conclusion, the bottom on the jacket, and the button-holes, companions thereto, would baffle the criticism of the most hyper-fastidious stab-rag; and the shirt collar, with every other detail—never forgetting the chiaro-scuro—are equal to any of the preceding.

1841 August 21, “Fine Arts”, in Punch, or the London Charivari, volume 1, page 65:

Corporal Target is at the stab-rag—tailor's, sir. Bein' measured for a new overcoat, sir.

1943, Stella Gibbons, Ticky, London: Random House, published 2012, →ISBN, page 127:

(obsolete, military, British, slang) A regimental tailor.


claimancy

He has effective authority to move his billets around within his claimancy as necessary to meet needs.

1975, Navy Supply Corps Newsletter, page 6:

One the most important roles of the claimancy is the management of the financial resources provided to the activities for operations and maintenance.

1992, Naval School, Civil Engineer Corps Officers, Guide to public work management, page 2-15:

Within the NAVSUP claimancy (which is entirely within the Navy's infrastructure) almost two- thirds of our staffing and workload is directly linked to force size.

Since, for example, IT funding issues are not limited to the Pacific Fleet claimancy (CPF) but affect the navy as a whole, not only are CPF activities free to comment, but other claimancies also are free to comment on the issue.

2008, Lawrence R. Jones, Jerry L. McCaffery, Budgeting, Financial Management, and Acquisition Reform in the U.S. Department of Defense, →ISBN, page 179:

(military) A branch of the navy responsible for maintaining infrastructure, usually corresponding roughly to a command grouping.


depper

en-adjective

depper (comparative more depper, superlative most depper)

more depper (comparative)
most depper (superlative)

Don't be that one guy who shows up to boot camp in his depper clothes.

(US, military, nautical, slang) Of or pertaining to the Delayed Entry Program.


depper

The recruiting officer led the deppers outside to do PT in the hot sun.

(US, military, nautical, slang) A member of the Delayed Entry Program.


fireworker

(military, historical) A person in charge of the operation of a gun.


boltface

(firearms) The front surface of a bolt in a firearm or back of the firing chamber, against which the cartridge rests.


pr.

B.L. cartridges have lubricators choked inside the cartridges of 40-pr. and lower natures.

1879, War Office, Manual of Siege and Garrison Artillery Exercises, page 37:


pusher-thruster

(sumo) A rikishi who uses his weight to push and pummel his opponent, rather than holding the opponent's mawashi and attempting to throw him


SPOD

(US, military) Acronym of seaport of debarkation/disembarkation.


(military) Initialism of command, control, and communications.


parabelt

(military) A belt that can be used as an emergency tourniquet


BBG

(military, nautical) Initialism of guided-missile battleship (a battleship equipped with cruise missiles as one of its primary armaments).

guided-missile battleship

(military, nautical) Abbreviation of battleship battle group.


right face

right faces (plural)
right-face (alternative)

Coordinate term: right turn (Commonwealth)

The sergeant made a right face and stepped off and stood next to the sergeant major.

2013, Joe C. Noriega, ARIZONA RANGERS, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 162:

After taking a sip, he did a right face and stepped over to an unoccupied table.

2017, Wayne Zurl, Murder in Knoxville: A Sam Jenkins Mystery, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 96:

After a few minutes, we executed a right face and churned a new path directly toward the woods.

2013, Jim Ross, Outside the Wire: Riding with the "Triple Deuce" in Vietnam, 1970, Stackpole Books, →ISBN, page 94:

(He comes to attention, salutes, does a right face, and exits.)

2000, Vincent Caristi, John DiFusco, Tracers: A Play, Dramatists Play Service Inc, →ISBN, page 23:

(especially military) The act of a person turning to the right.


Benghazi boiler

en-noun

Benghazi boiler (plural Benghazi boilers)

(New Zealand, military, slang) A thermette.


little guy

(military slang, dated) A Vietnamese man, particularly in the Vietnam War.


percussion lock

percussion lock (plural percussion locks)

(firearms) A kind of lock for a gun in which a hammer strikes upon a percussion cap on the nipple, igniting the charge.


war of attrition

war of attrition (plural wars of attrition)

A bullet for your war of attrition
And your exploitation of the human condition

2021, Gerald Casale, Josh Freese, Josh Hager, Steve Bartek, “I'm Gonna Pay U Back”, in I'm Gonna Pay U Back, performed by DEVO's Gerald V. Casale:

So far, soldiers on the front lines said they had seen little evidence of escalation beyond this largely slow-moving war of attrition.

2021 December 6, Michael Schwirtz, “On Ukrainian Front, Grinding War and Weary Anticipation of Invasion”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

The Site Director was expected to initiate DISCIDIUM Protocol should the situation become untenable; so far as remote observation of the remains of Ipperwash Park above can show, this was not done. Transmissions are occasionally intercepted from the Site, and after memetic 'washing' by RAISA have been determined to originate from uncompromised personnel conducting a war of attrition against the above-mentioned entities. It is from their reports that the majority of this information, save for that regarding SCP-001-A, has been derived. As an understanding of each entity may aid in the defeat of SCP-001-A, no action has been taken to remove Site-43 from operational effectiveness.

2023 October 6, HarryBlank, “Executive Dysfunction”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 2024-05-26:

(military) A prolonged war in which the warring sides try to defeat their opponents by wearing them out.


promachos

From Ancient Greek πρόμαχος (prómakhos).

(historical, military) In Ancient Greece and during the Byzantine era, a soldier who fought in the first rank of the phalanx. An obsolete English literal translation of such a promachos is a 'forefighter'.


percussion bullet

percussion bullet (plural percussion bullets)

(firearms) A bullet designed to explode on striking its target.


submissile

(firearms, military) A missile that detaches from a larger missile.


rogue's march

(military, historical) Music played in derision of a person who is being expelled as a soldier, etc.


RNAS

Royal Navy Air Service
w:en:Royal Navy Air Service

(UK, military, World War I, aviation, historical) Initialism of Royal Navy Air Service. (British)


stand at attention

en-verb

stand at attention (third-person singular simple present stands at attention, present participle standing at attention, simple past and past participle stood at attention)

stands at attention (present singular third-person)
standing at attention (participle present)
stood at attention (participle past)
stood at attention (past)
stand to attention (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-stand at attention.wav

It is a strange fact, but it is unquestionably true that almost any English intellectual would feel more ashamed of standing to attention during “God save the King” than of stealing from a poor box.

1941, George Orwell, The Lion and the Unicorn:

(military) To stand straight with eyes forward and feet together.


ringpost

(professional wrestling) Any of the posts that surround the ring.


dearm

dearm (third-person singular simple present dearms, present participle dearming, simple past and past participle dearmed)

dearms (present singular third-person)
dearming (participle present)
dearmed (participle past)
dearmed (past)
de-arm (alternative)


four-belt

(boxing) Relating to the four forms of professional heavyweight boxing - WBO, WBC, IBF and WBA


file 13

Just put it in file 13. It doesn't warrant a response.

If not, it’s not going to be of value to you or anyone else to put it in print after the event has taken place. Therefore it will be filed in file 13, and just in case you’re not familiar with this file, the army calls it the “waste-basket”.

1957, Cy Linder, “Piston Poppin’”, in American Motorcycling, page 34:

(US, military slang, dated) A trash can, wastepaper basket.


bowler hat out

bowler hat out (third-person singular simple present bowler hats out, present participle bowler hatting out, simple past and past participle bowler hatted out)

bowler hats out (present singular third-person)
bowler hatting out (participle present)
bowler hatted out (participle past)
bowler hatted out (past)

Reputed to be from the practice of turning Royal Air Force men out by giving them their bowler hat and telling them to go.

Joe was bowler hatted out of the R.A.F. for misconduct.

"Bit of luck my being here," said the brigadier, with a smile, rather like a schoolboy who has done something and got away with it. "You see, I was bowler-hatted out there. Question of age. Then, when I came back they reconsidered things.

1946, Richard McMillan, Miracle Before Berlin:

If an idea flopped, a subordinate would be bowler-hatted out of the gang; if the idea was successful, then it was Ted Donnell done it.

1958, P.H.H. Bryan, The Barford Cat Affair:

His name was Bill Sulis and amazingly he had been bowler hatted out of the Royal Air Force for flying a monoplane upside down and pranging it.

1979, Oliver Reed, Reed All about Me: The Autobiography of Oliver Reed:

(dated, military, slang, UK, usually passive voice) To eject (someone) from an organization.


jackass battery

en-noun

jackass battery (plural jackass batteries)

(historical, military, US) A group of cannons pulled by mules, used in 19th century warfare.


demidistance

(fortifications, historical) The distance between the outward polygons and the flank.


assault at arms

assault at arms (plural assaults at arms)

(fencing) A display of attack and defence in fencing.


QM

QM (countable and uncountable, plural QMs)

(military, scouting, US) Initialism of quartermaster.


stand of arms

(military, historical) A complete set of weapons for one soldier.


Fiddler's Green

From 19th-century English maritime folklore.

Fiddlers' Green (alternative)
Fidlers' Green (alternative)

1996, Edward L. Daily, We Remember: U.S. Cavalry Association, Turner Publishing Company, page 7,
Fiddler's Green is where a cavalryman meets his comrades who have gone before him, at an old canteen, surrounded by a broad meadow, dotted with trees and crossed by many streams. Here the cavalryman stops, unsaddles his horse, and joins his comrades for a visit with many stories, reminiscences, and camaraderie, before continuing his journey. Soldiers of no other service may stop at Fiddler's Green, they must continue to march.

(US, military) A stopping place for fallen cavalrymen on the path to the afterlife.


parafrag

parafrags (plural)
para-frag (alternative)

(military) A kind of small bomb dropped with a parachute, and pre-scored to break into one-inch pieces.


counterland

(military) Of or pertaining to actions against an enemy on the land surface.


cover name

cover names (plural)
covername (alternative)

By the time that he landed in New York early in June, 1915, Sir Edgar Speyer had good cause to be well aware that the Government was strongly opposed to any communication, direct or indirect, with enemy country and to all attempts to evade the censorship of letters and cables, whether by the use of code words or cover names;

1922, UK Parliament, Report […] in the Case of Sir Edgar Speyer, London, p. 7

1941, Richard Krebs (as Jan Valtin), Out of the Night, New York: Alliance Book Corporation, Chapter 31, p. 493,
The map of Germany was in my head—its cities, rivers, railroad schedules. I memorized a long string of names and cover names […]

[…] his headquarters were located, under a cover name, at the air terminal.

1962, Philip K. Dick, chapter 8, in The Man in the High Castle, New York: Ace Books, published 1988, page 113:

‘That’s a new one for us, isn’t it, Toby? A spy using his own name as a covername? I mean why bother any more? You’re Toby, so we’ll keep it a secret and call you Toby instead. Great.’

1990, John Le Carré, The Secret Pilgrim, Toronto: Pengin, published 1991, page 150:

(espionage, military) A name used to clandestinely identify somebody or something for confidentiality.


calibered

(firearms, in combination) Having the specified caliber.


HVT

high-value target
high-value target#English

(military) Initialism of high-value target.


York round

(archery) six dozen, four dozen, and two dozen arrows shot at each of three distances


American round

(archery) five ends, of six arrows each, shot at each of three distances


route-march

route-marches (plural)
routemarch (alternative)
route march (alternative)

Half of the unit was preparing for some training exercise, apparently a route-march carrying full kit.

2012, Rosemary Rowe, Whispering of Spies, →ISBN:

He then proceeded to lead them on a route-march at a blistering pace that many struggled to keep up with.

2013, Stuart Tootal, The Manner of Men: 9 PARA's Heroic D-Day Mission, →ISBN:

We had been out on a route-march. You know, I daresay, that nowadays a route-march is not simply a matter of marching. In a route-march there is involved a certain amount of field training.

2013, Gerald Kersh, The Horrible Dummy and Other Stories, →ISBN:

This young officer came up to me and asked me whether I would mind marching more slowly -- they were running out of puff. I thought I was supposed to go on a route-march and be back by a certain time.

2015, Colleen Ryan Clur, Pixie Annat: Champion of Nurses, →ISBN, page 51:

(military) A long march for training purposes.


route-march

en-verb

route-march (third-person singular simple present route-marches, present participle route-marching, simple past and past participle route-marched)

route-marches (present singular third-person)
route-marching (participle present)
route-marched (participle past)
route-marched (past)
routemarch (alternative)
route march (alternative)

The troops drilled, trained, route-marched, and adapted to military life and to each other.

2011, James Hurst, Game to the Last: The 11th Australian Infantry Battalion at Gallipoli, →ISBN:

The Battalion of East Surreys billeted in its sad empty houses was route-marched through the rain around Stirling.

2013, Alan Whicker, Whicker’s War and Journey of a Lifetime, →ISBN:

(military) To go or send on a route-march.


motarded

en-adj

motarded (comparative more motarded, superlative most motarded)

more motarded (comparative)
most motarded (superlative)

(US, military, slang) Like a motard; obnoxiously overenthusiastic.


shoey

From shoe + -y (diminutive suffix); diminutive of shoe.


CBG

en-noun

CBG (countable and uncountable, plural CBGs)

carrier battle group
carrier battle group#English

(countable, military, nautical, aviation) Initialism of carrier battle group.


unsafetied

(firearms) On which the safety mechanism is not engaged.


hospital corpsman

hospital corpsman (plural hospital corpsmen)

hospital corpsmen (plural)
HM (alternative)

(military, US, nautical) A member of a hospital corps, typically an enlisted navy sailor, often working at military hospitals.


HQMC

Headquarters Marine Corps
Headquarters Marine Corps#English

(US, military) Initialism of Headquarters Marine Corps.


FFAR

Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket
w:Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket

(US, military) Initialism of Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket.


hospitalman

(military, US, nautical) A seaman who is also a hospital corpsman.


unfragged

(US, military, slang) Not specified as a military target.


NDCC

National Defense Cadet Corps
w:National Defense Cadet Corps

(US, military) Initialism of National Defense Cadet Corps.


traversing platform

traversing platform (plural traversing platforms)

(military, historical) A platform to support a gun and carriage which can easily be turned round.


armour-piercing

(military, British spelling) alternative form of armor-piercing


left turn

The noun is derived from left (adjective) + turn (noun).
The interjection is derived from left (adverb) + turn (verb), while the verb is derived from the interjection.

Coordinate term: left face (chiefly US)

The commanding officer then orders—Shoulder Arms!—Flanks, to the centre advance!—To the right and left turn!—Forward!

1810, “Funeral Exercise”, in The Military Companion: Being a System of Company Discipline, Founded on the Regulations of Baron Steuben, Late Major-General and Inspector-General of the Army of the United-States. […], 3rd edition, Newburyport, Mass.: Thomas & Whipple. […], →OCLC, page 38:

[I]f they each step off at the same instant, with the left foot, the sound of their feet will enable them to keep step and time, and march about in this form, as directed by the instructor, to the leading file, "right turn" or "left turn," without confusion.

[1874], [Alfred Wilks Drayson], chapter XXI, in The Young Dragoon; or, Every Day Life of a Soldier. […], London: Ward, Lock, and Tyler, […], →OCLC, page 187:

Sun Tzŭ went on: When I say "Eyes front," you must look straight ahead. When I say "Left turn," you must face towards your left hand.

1910, Sun Tzu [Traditional Han: 孫子], “Introduction”, in Lionel Giles, transl., Sun Tzŭ on the Art of War […], London: Luzac & Co., translation of 孫子兵法 [Sūnzǐ Bīngfǎ, The Art of War], →OCLC, Sun Wu and His Book, page XI:

When you joined the Territorial Force you joined a body of men who wash their necks and shine their boots. About turn. Into file, left turn.

1993, Michael Glover, “England 1914: Your King and Country”, in The Fateful Battle Line: The Great War Journals and Sketches of Captain Henry Ogle, London: Leo Cooper, →ISBN:

Go on, soldier! Left! Right! Left! Right! Left! Right! Soldier, left turn!

2004, Roch Carrier, translated by Sheila Fischman, La Guerre, Yes Sir!, Toronto, Ont.: House of Anansi Press, →ISBN, page 77:

My family were there to witness it all and there I was bawling out the commands, "Left Turn, Right Turn, and Halt!"

2013, Billy Gilvear, Eric Gaudion, “Day of Pride”, in Storming Home: British Soldier, Bodyguard to the Stars, Boozer and Addict – Could Billy Change?, Oxford, Oxfordshire, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Monarch Books, Lion Hudson, →ISBN, page 54:

(chiefly military) A command to a soldier or other person who is marching: turn ninety degrees to your left!


left turn

en-verb

left turn (third-person singular simple present left turns, present participle left turning, simple past and past participle left turned)

left turns (present singular third-person)
left turning (participle present)
left turned (participle past)
left turned (past)

Coordinate term: left face (chiefly US)

Let them but remember Lewis the eleventh, who to a Clarke of the Exchequer, that came to be Lord Treaſurer, and had (for his device) repreſented himſelfe ſitting upon fortunes wheele: told him, hee might doe well to faſten it with a good ſtrong nayle, left turning about it, it might bring him, where hee was againe. As indeed it did.

[1641, Ben[jamin] Johnson [i.e., Ben Jonson], Timber: Or, Discoveries; Made vpon Men and Matter: […], London: [s.n.], →OCLC, pages 108–109:

They left-turned, right-turned and about-turned, and the sergeant marched them up and down a bit on the asphalt and then silently on the grass, more to get them moving than anything else.

1999, Leslie Thomas, chapter 1, in Other Times, London: Arrow Books, published 2011, →ISBN, page 3:

(intransitive, chiefly military) To turn ninety degrees to one's left, especially in response to a military command while marching.


Murderers' Row

(boxing, historical) A group of middleweight boxers in the 1940s.


sap shield

The junctions of the gabions, as well as the most advanced gabion before it is filled, are covered by means of Knight's sap shields (steel plates mounted on wheels, see Fig. 382), which move along the berm, the front one fitting close against the sap roller.

1884, George Philips, Text Book on Fortification, Etc: For the Use of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst:

(military) A metal plate that shelters a sapper.


BMO

(military, slang) Initialism of black moving object: a woman wearing a burqa


walking mattress

en-noun

walking mattress (plural walking mattresses)

Humorous alternative explanation for the acronym WM (“woman marine”), implying that she is hypersexual.

(military, slang, derogatory, offensive) A female marine.


barracks rat

(slang, military) A soldier who prefers to stay in the barracks during time off.


Habeebatee

bor

Arabic حَبِيبَتِي (ḥabībatī)

(slang, derogatory, US military) An attractive Arab female.


Jane Wayne

(slang, US military) A female of masculine appearance or behavior.


shack rat

(slang, military) A female civilian visiting military barracks in order to have sex with soldiers.

(slang, military) A female civilian cohabitating with a male soldier.


deployment goggles

Camp Cupcake was somewhere where the grunts would make a pit stop. They'd see you and you were the most beautiful thing in the world. Back home you may not be much, but out there they've got deployment goggles—you look good, so you're in chow hall and it's kind of uncomfortable because you feel like a piece of meat or something on display.

2010, Laura Browder, Sascha Pflaeging, When Janey Comes Marching Home: Portraits of Women Combat Veterans, University of North Carolina Press, →ISBN, page 137:

(humorous, military slang) A tendency to regard people as more sexually attractive than one usually would, as a result of being deployed to a region where there are few potential partners.


active service

She was built by William Denny & Bros. Ltd., and launched in 1939, but went immediately on active service as a trooper [troopship].

1947 January and February, “Notes and News: New Southern Channel Steamer”, in Railway Magazine, page 49:

(UK, military) Full-time occupation in the military.


naval base

(military) an installation in a port or harbour used as a centre of operations by the country's navy.


egg banjo

(UK, military, slang) A sandwich containing fried egg.


mouse gun

(firearms, colloquial) A pocket pistol, especially one of a particularly small caliber.


fife major

(military, obsolete) The chief fifer in a regiment.


Woolworth gun

In reference to Woolworth's, a chain of inexpensive stores.

(US, military, slang, derogatory) The FP-45 Liberator, a crude, cheaply-made single-shot pistol.


cross-battery

(military, in the plural) A pair of batteries commanding the same spot from different directions.


mainshaft

mainshafts (plural)
main shaft (alternative)

(archery) The primary shaft of an arrow into which the foreshaft containing the arrowhead is inserted.


JB

(US, military) Abbreviation of joint base.


SAF

(military) Initialism of small arms fire.


SAF

Singapore Armed Forces
w:Singapore Armed Forces

(Singapore, military) Initialism of Singapore Armed Forces.

Serbian Armed Forces
w:Serbian Armed Forces

(military) Initialism of Serbian Armed Forces.

On Wednesday, the SAF posted a video on social media which it said showed RSF fighters fleeing Khartoum, hours after it reclaimed the airport.

2025 March 27, Nimi Princewill, “Sudan’s army has captured the capital. Is it a turning point in the devastating conflict?”, in CNN:

Sudanese Armed Forces
w:Sudanese Armed Forces

(military) Initialism of Sudanese Armed Forces.


washup

I found it quite interesting that the players had gone to great lengths not to fire nuclear weapons, even in games that pitted Soviet and Western forces against each other in demanding situations. […] Huge arguments would take place in the post-game analyses or "washups."

2001, William J Crowe, Jr., The Line of Fire:

(military, slang) A meeting to gauge the success or failure of an operation or war game.


unrep

en-noun

unrep (countable and uncountable, plural unreps)

(nautical, military) The act of taking on fuel without putting into port.


unrep

en-verb

unrep (third-person singular simple present unreps, present participle unrepping, simple past and past participle unrepped)

unreps (present singular third-person)
unrepping (participle present)
unrepped (participle past)
unrepped (past)

(intransitive, nautical, military) To take on fuel without putting into port.


peggy

Against this, her deck staff runs to about a hundred, being made up of some fifty able-seamen, eight or ten 'peggies' […]

1936, Charles Richard Benstead, Atlantic Ferry, page 178:

The number of "peggies" going aft to fetch the meals had been increasing steadily.

1955, Willi Frischauer, Robert Jackson, The Altmark affair, page 177:

(UK, naval slang) The petty officers' mess steward.


SADF

South African Defence Force
w:South African Defence Force

(South Africa, military, historical) Initialism of South African Defence Force.


butcher's bill

What's the butcher's bill?


eliminee

(military) A soldier who fails to meet the requirements of a special training course.


mustard seed

en-noun

mustard seed (countable and uncountable, plural mustard seeds)

Being myself much given to the collection of birds for scientific purposes, a line of operation, requiring, in most cases, the finest shot that can be procured, I use mustard seed habitually, and have learned, incidentally as it were, its efficacy when directed against birds which, it might be thought, could not be brought down with it.

1873 November 22, Dr. Elliott Coues, U. S. A., “Use of Small Shot”, in The American Sportsman, volume 3, number 8, West Meriden, Conn., page 117:

“ […] Much as I hated to do it, while that sow was chasing after him, I let him have it in the stern with a light load of mustard-seed shot. That combination worked!” […] The mustard-seed shot he mentions are No. 12's and the load was extremely light.

1972 May, Robert Halverson, “Punishment …Or Reward?”, in Field & Stream, volume 77, number 1, page 223:

Hmmmm... you suppose if you miss, you might blow a 1+1/2" hole anyway, with that rig? :) Even #9? 22rf shot (mustard seed) is supposed to be #12, not sure what that would do either. :/

2007 June 6, alv...@example.com, “Re: the downside”, in rec.knives (Usenet):

(firearms, also attributively) Small lead shot, usually of size No. 12, used for shooting birds and other animals at close range.


M4 (countable and uncountable, plural M4s)

Alternative form: M-4

(firearms) Ellipsis of M4 carbine a military assault rifle.


counterthrow

(martial arts) A move that saves a fighter from being thrown by the opponent and converts the motion into a throw of the opponent instead.