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DOI: https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2023.69.09.3
How to Cite:
Palchevska, O., Aleksandruk, I., Tyshchenko, O., Labenko, O., & Sydorenko, O. (2023). Military slang: Origin, structure and
semantics. Amazonia Investiga, 12(69), 42-50. https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2023.69.09.3
Military slang: Origin, structure and semantics
Армійський Сленг: Походження, Структура та Семантика
Received: August 1, 2023 Accepted: September 20, 2023
Written by:
Oleksandra Palchevska1
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2090-4870
Iryna Aleksandruk2
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6306-4624
Oleh Tyshchenko3
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7255-2742
Oksana Labenko4
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5335-3331
Olena Sydorenko5
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9794-9754
Abstract
The humankind has been facing different wars and
military conflicts during its existence and
development. In the current globalized world, the
role of the military is very essential and obvious.
Furthermore, military slang in English is of utmost
significance due to the leading role of the military
from various English-speaking countries. The aim
of the following research is to identify and analyze
military slangy words and phrases in English; to
create the military slang phrases and words corpus;
to make their semantic and structural characteristics
analyses; and to explain their practical usage
context. The methods applied in this research
include linguistic analysis, which was utilized in the
selection of military slang words and phrases
applied in modern English; the word-building
analysis, which helped in determining semantics
and structural features of military words and
phrases utilized in the English language; and
linguo-cultural and socio-cultural analyses that
allowed giving explanations of the UK and US
military traditions, cultures, and vocabulary
specific features. The specific characteristics of
military slang are dynamism, exaggerated
1
PhD in General Linguistics, Associate Professor at Department of Foreign Languages Translation Studies, Lviv State University of
Life Safety, Lviv, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: HTO-9472-2023
2
Ph.D. in Philology, Associate Professor at Department of Foreign Languages for Chemistry and Physics-related Faculties, Taras
Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: AAC-6111-2020
3
DrS in General Linguistics, Professor at Department of Foreign Languages Translation Studies, Lviv State University of Life Safety,
Lviv, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: CDN-6736-2022
4
PhD in General Linguistics, Associate Professor at Department of Foreign Languages for Faculties of History and Philosophy, Taras
Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: ACG-2010-2022
5
PhD in Philology, Associate Professor at Department of Foreign Languages for Faculties of History and Philosophy, Taras
Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: JGL-9128-2023
Palchevska, O., Aleksandruk, I., Tyshchenko, O., Labenko, O., Sydorenko, O. / Volume 12 - Issue 69: 42-50 / September, 2023
Volume 12 - Issue 69
/ September 2023
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expression, broad usage by the military, and general
familiarity. The military slang vocabulary units
have the same formation ways typical of general
English vocabulary, including meanings transfer
(metaphor), abbreviation and acronyms, blending,
affixation, conversion, shortening, and
compounding.
Keywords: slang, military slang, word-building,
metaphor, compounding, origin.
Introduction
Due to numerous wars, armed conflicts and
interventions that have been taking place in
different parts of the world, the role of the
military has become more and more evident and
significant. Among the recent wars and conflicts
are the Russian-Ukrainian war, Iranian-Israeli
proxy conflicts, Armenia-Azerbaijanian conflicts
and others (Ero & Atwood, 2023). It is worth
emphasizing that the United States of America in
cooperation with the United Kingdom and other
English-speaking countries has actively been
participating in solving the above-mentioned
issues. Thus, various security hyper-threats and
the ways aimed at finding effective solutions to
avoid world instability have attracted plenty of
attention to the military field (Boulton, 2022,
92-93). Furthermore, for the researchers working
in the linguistics and translation field, the English
language, military terms, and military slang in
particular are of intense interest. Numerous
military acronyms, abbreviations, as well as
slangy words and phrases are widely used by the
military in different settings, military-related
reports, speeches, and mass media news.
Therefore, military slang in the English language
should thoroughly be studied considering the
current state of affairs occurring in the world.
The aim of the research is to create the corpus
of military slang words and phrases; identify and
classify them in the English language; to analyze
their structural and semantic features; and to
explain the context of their application.
We collected the corpus of the research from
the following sources: Military Slang Dictionary
(n.d.); Military.com (n.d.); War Slang: American
Fighting Word and Phrases since the Civil War
(2004) by Dickson, DOD. Dictionary of Military
and Associated Terms (2021); Tommy French:
How British First Word War Soldiers Turned
French into Slang (2021) by Waker; Soldiers’
Songs and Slang of the Great War (2014) by
Pegler.
Theoretical Framework and Literature
Review
Slang is defined as a non-linguistic and non-
standard additional lexical system that presents
expressive and valuational, usually stylistically
marked names of the generally accepted and
known concepts (Jones, 2018, 233; Sun, Zemel,
& Xu, 2021, 462, Pedlar, Thomson, & Castro,
2019). It belongs to a specific social subculture
within the national language (Uwen & Mehnsa,
2022, 91-92). In the majority of cases, scholars
use different adjectives with the term slang,
which narrows down its meaning and clearly
shows its field of application, e.g. military slang
(including radar slang, Air Forces slang, English
Army slang, American Army slang, war slang),
teenage slang, business slang, SMS slang,
computer slang, prison slang, sex slang, etc.
(Shevchuk & Klymenko, 2011; Jones, 2018;
Fajardo, 2019). Slang is not considered to be the
form of language existence as it does not have its
specific phonetic and grammatical levels and is
based on each national language peculiarities
(Hanaqtah, 2019). Many researchers indicate that
various mass media means, as well as mobile
platforms and applications assist in wide-
spreading and using slang, in our case, military
one (Yusuf, Fata, & Aini, 2022, 167).
In this research we regard military slang as an
essential part of slang used in the English
language, which is applied by the US and UK
military to denote various military concepts.
However, it is of great significance to take into
account that there are many obvious differences
in the military terms’ usage by representatives of
the US, UK and other English-speaking states
(Dickson, 2004; Waker, 2021).
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Military slang comprises almost all military life
areas. All the weapon types, equipment, property
types, military ranks and professions, military
events and actions, armed forces types, food and
drinks, uniforms, interpersonal and professional
relationships, and many other aspects do have
their specific names in informal and formal
languages. The following tendency occurs due to
the necessity to have simple, original and specific
names for various concepts and objects in the
professional and private life of the military
professionals.
Methodology
The methods used in this research are as
indicated below:
➢ Linguistic analysis was applied to select
military slang words and phrases used in the
modern English language;
➢ Socio-cultural and linguo-cultural analyses
assisted in explaining the US and UK
military cultures, traditions, vocabulary
peculiar features, and others;
➢ Word-building analysis was utilized to
determine structural and semantic features
of military slang words and phrases used in
the modern English language;
➢ Etymological analysis was used to explain
the origin and reconstruct the inherent
images that are the basis of the nominal
units.
Discussion and Results
Semantic Word-building Processes Applied to
Form Military Slang Words and Phrases
Metaphor. Metaphors based on the associations
with realities and processes or with the objects of
everyday domestic sphere reflect both positive
and negative evaluative modality, as they are
mainly means of expressing emotive shades of
meaning. The most numerous are the metaphors
of clothes and shoes. The lexeme boot entered the
military slang with the meaning of a Navy or
Marine recruit. The term is thought to come from
the leggings that newly recruited sailors used to
wear during training, which were called boots.
(Since colonial days, Americans have been using
the word boot to mean footwear reaching to the
knee). The nomination has expanded its
semantics to general naming someone lacking in
experience. The derived word combinations also
belong to the bottom of the connotative semantic
differential scale: boot shark (a female who preys
on new recruits); boot Lt. (A brand-new officer
who is terrible at just about everything,
especially land nav, and is oblivious to how boot
they are); salty boot (a boot who has a non-
combat deployment). The lexeme acquires a
neutral meaning to give a certain characteristic to
the footwear: Mickey Mouse boots (cold weather
boots) (Military Slang Dictionary, n.d.).
Other very commonly used slang words are a
sock and a shoe. For example, the expression
fresh socks has two meanings, the second of
which arises from the first and metaphorizes the
change of socks as a complete change of events
on the battlefield:
“Putting new socks on after a long day in the
field. A complete game changer” (Military Slang
Dictionary, n.d.).
The expression gum shoe is used to refer to a
military naval rank – Cryptologic, technician
rated sailor (Military Slang Dictionary, n.d.).
The dominant lexeme, by adding a certain
meaningful word, forms a compound that gives a
certain characteristic of the footwear: shower
shoes (flip flops or sandals worn in the shower to
avoid any number of nasty things you might pick
up in the communal showers), crooked shoes
(footwear cut for right and left feet. Such shoes
were provided to Union soldiers, many of whom,
prior to enlisting, had only worn two shoes cut
identically (Military Slang Dictionary, n.d.).
The word crusher (hats worn by pilots during
World War II) is formed by association with the
way hats were worn. The hat’s wide top brim
would need to be crushed down to allow for
headsets to be worn. A parachute is
metaphorically referred to as an overcoat (Urban
Dictionary, n.d.). On the basis of sound
similarity, a nominal unit cammies is formed that
is used to name camouflage utility uniform and
what are referred to as The Battle Dress Uniform
(BDU) or a camouflaged combat uniform in the
Army and Air Force (Dickson, 2004, 303).
The word combination slick sleeve is used to
designate an airman basic. According to the
Urban Dictionary (n.d.), it is used in the Army
since the introduction of the ACU uniform, when
a soldier has not yet been deployed overseas and
lacks the combat patch on there right shoulder
sleeve.
Concluding the analysis of the clothing
metaphor, it is evident that the vast majority of
the slang words used are emotive in nature. The
detailed structure of the correlative domain, its
closeness and comprehensibility to a person
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create favorable conditions for high productivity
and pragmatic potential of this type of artifactual
metaphors.
Anthropomorphic metaphor. In linguistics,
anthropomorphic metaphor plays a key role in
the process of the surrounding reality mental
structuring. A person has fixed his or her physical
image, internal states, emotions and intelligence,
attitude to a certain object. Almost every word
mirrors a person. Human thinking and
consciousness are inherently anthropocentric and
capable of cognizing the outside world in close
association with personal experience. Thus,
anthropomorphic metaphor turns out to be one of
the most productive types of metaphor in the
military slang. As a result, the anthropomorphic
metaphor is based on the comparisons of
phenomena and processes of the military world
and realities with anatomical, physiological and
psychological qualities of a person, which is
reflected in the basis of the metaphorical model
MILITARY REALITY IS A HUMAN
ORGANIZATION. For example: bone (a B–1
bomber); fangs (a Marine Corps term for one's
teeth); strawfoot (a rural or backwoods soldier
(as if he still had straw on his shoes)); doughfoot
(an infantryman) (Military Slang Dictionary,
n.d.; Dickson, 2004; Pegler, 2014; Waker, 2021).
According to The New York Times of December
10, 1944, the term doughfoot alludes to the
disagreeable, even miserable, conditions endured
by the infantryman because of mud (Dickson,
2004). Slicksleeve refers to a private, the lowest
Army rank, which is normally held only by new
recruits while at Basic Combat Training (BCT).
However, the rank occasionally is assigned to
soldiers after a disciplinary action has been taken
(Dickson, 2004, 330).
Allusive phenomenon metaphor. A special
group of anthroponymic slang words or phrases
are allusive phenomenon metaphors. Scholars
interpret the term allusive phenomenon as the
broadest in meaning, since allusive phenomena
as a notion cannot be designated by any single
linguistic category – a word or phrase, sentence,
phraseology, cliché, metaphor, etc (Torchynska,
Shymanska, Gontsa, & Dudenko, 2021).
However, there is no unanimity in its
interpretation. Military slang often uses
expressions based on the latter. Without
knowledge of certain historical figures, folk
heroes or legend characters, it is hardly possible
to understand the meaning of a certain word or
expression. An allusive name is an individual
name associated with either a well-known text or
an allusive situation. It is a kind of a complex
sign, when used in communication, it appeals not
to the actual denotation (in other terminology –
referent), but to a set of the given allusive name
differential attributes. In the military slang it may
consist of one or more elements, thus denoting a
single concept. For instance, Jawa is a term for
an Army Soldier who is stationed in a desert area,
named after the desert-dwelling aliens of Star
Wars (Military, n.d.).
Joe is an army term for a soldier shortened from
G.I. Joe (Military, n.d.). G.I. Joe is one of the
numerous American media franchises and a line
of the best-known action figures owned and
produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial
product offering represented four of the branches
of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier
(U.S. Army), Action Sailor (U.S. Navy), Action
Pilot (U.S. Air Force), Action Marine (U.S.
Marine Corps) and later on, the Action Nurse.
The name is derived from the usage of G.I. Joe
for the generic U.S. soldier, itself derived from
the more general term G.I. The development of
G.I. Joe led to the coining of the term action
figure. G.I. Joe’s appeal to children has made it
an American icon among toys (Logos-World,
n.d.).
The nominal unit Sad Sack derived from the
comic book series hero name the “The Sad Sack”
by American artist George Baker about the
adventures of an unlucky soldier; Andrew
Jackson “military police”, where Andrew
Jackson is a hero of US folk legends, a skilled
marksman who always hits the target, and the
emblem of the military police is crossed pistols;
Billy Brown “a soldier”, William is the most
popular name among the British, so is the
surname Brown. According to the same model,
the following slang units are formed: Jerry
(a German); Jock (a Scotsman); Davie Jones
(a sailor or pilot who is in the water without a life
jacket (Military Slang Dictionary, n.d.; Military,
n.d.; Dickson, 2004; Pegler, 2014; DOD, 2021;
Waker, 2021). According to Dickson (2004),
Davie Jones is the spirit of the sea or the sailor’s
devil. There is the possibility that the name
originated, as a corruption of Devil Jonah, or
possibly Duffy Jonah, where duffy being a British
West Indian word for the devil), Fanny Adams
(zero visibility, a lie), Naked Fanny (Nakon
Phanom air base), in Thailand (Military Slang
Dictionary, n.d.; Dickson, 2004; Pegler, 2014;
DOD, 2021; Waker, 2021).
Military personnel often use the real people and
fictional heroes’ names, for instance, Jack
Johnson (a heavy artillery, large-caliber
projectile). The notion derived from the famous
boxer’s name of the first African-American
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world champion Jack Johnson (Dickson, 2004,
72). The two following names entered the
military slang from cartoons: Donald Duck
(a floating tank; a floating car); a special duplex
drive (DD), which is installed on such vehicles,
hence the name Donald Duck appeared, and
Mickey Mouse (an educational film shown to
soldiers) (Dickson, 2004). In this case, the name
emerged due to the similarity to Mickey Mouse
cartoons shown to children (Dickson, 2004, 188).
Gun Bunny is an ironic name for an artilleryman
(similar to Bugs Bunny, a cartoon character
known for his stupidity and ridiculous actions)
(Dickson, 2004, 274).
Ali Baba is referred to an enemy soldier (Military
Slang Dictionary, n.d.). The following
combination became popular after the Gulf War
against Iraq.
Nominal unit Jesus Slippers (military-issued
shower footwear) is associated with Christian
beliefs (Military. (n.d.)).
Some allusive names in military slang are often
formed by means of alliteration, including
Bouncing Betty (a mine that bounces after being
stepped on to cause greater damage to the
enemy); Tommy or Tommy Atkins (a name for the
British common soldiers); Joe Jump
(a parachutist); Peeping Tom (surveillance
equipment), and others (Military Slang
Dictionary, n.d.; Dickson, 2004; Pegler, 2014;
DOD, 2021; Waker, 2021). Furthermore, the
expression Peeping Tom is also based on the
meaning “a curious prying fellow” (Etymonline,
n.d.).
Sobbing Sister is used to name “a mine fired from
a mortar”. It is worth noting that the term sob
sister dates to 1907, when the women reporters
who were covering the trial of Harry K. Thaw for
murder were condemned (Proquest, n.d.).
Metaphor of nature. Wildlife occupies a
significant place in the worldview of military
personnel, and ideas related to it are reflected in
numerous slang nominal units. Zoomorphic
metaphor correlates birds and animals with the
military realities: a bird – slang word for a
helicopter (Dickson, 2004, 236, 338) and a hawk
– a term for cold weather (Dickson, 2004, 311).
The metaphor is connected with African beliefs
where Hawk or Hawkins is an African-American
vernacular term for a cold, biting wind.
Mustang is the term referring to any officer who
was promoted from the enlisted ranks (can be
used respectfully or pejoratively,) a snake eater
(a Special Forces soldier; also known as a tree
eater); a whale (a tanker in the gulf), zebra (an
N.C.O. in the higher grades (E-6 to E-9) and
others (Dickson, 2004). The term zebra alludes
to the number of insignia stripes on the sleeves.
Trench monkey is a term given to underpaid, and
over qualified archaeological field technicians
who work in Cultural Resource Management
(Urban Dictionary, n.d.);
Slang word to fang is a verb used to describe a
person being rebuked, called out, or otherwise
disparaged. The word has a negative connotation
and originates from the Old English fang (prey,
spoils) (Etymonline, n.d.).
Grape is a plant metaphor with two meanings:
one for the Air Force, where it refers to an easy
assignment, and can be used as a compliment
when a service member makes something look
easy and the other is for the Navy, where it is
utilized to characterize an individual who refuels
aircraft (Military, n.d.).
Another common metaphorical group are action
metaphors that are mainly nouns used in military
slang to specify the way of action, for example,
cannibalize (to take workable parts of one item
and use them in another); dust-off (to organize a
medical evacuation by helicopter); expectant
(a casualty that is expected to pass away); crank
(a navy term for a sailor pulling temporary duty
in the galley) etc. (Military Slang Dictionary,
n.d.; Dickson, 2004; Pegler, 2014; DOD, 2021;
Waker, 2021). Jamieson's Scottish dictionary
(1825) underlines a secondary sense of the word
“hard, difficult” as in crank word (a word hard to
be understood); crank job (a work attended with
difficulty, or requiring ingenuity in the
execution) (Etymonline, n.d.). Gofasters is a
term for sneakers used in the Army, Navy, and
Marine Corps (Military, n.d.); kinetic is a slang
adjective meaning violent; klicks – kilometers,
where a kick means a blow or thrust with the foot;
swoop – marine term for a weekend trip off base
(Military, n.d.). The etymology of the word
swoop dates to the 1560s “to move or walk in a
stately manner”, meaning “pounce upon with a
sweeping movement” first recorded in the 1630s
(Etymonline, n.d.). Zoomie is a term used by non-
flying servicemembers for anyone who operates
a flying vehicle. Zoomie is the act of an animal
running around, sometimes in circles, in a very
energetic way (Cambridge Dictionary, n.d.).
The word creepers has several meanings:
(1) lice, (2) the feet, (3) soft-soled shoes, symbols
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usually included (Cambridge Dictionary, n.d.;
Etymonline, n. d.; Dickson, 2004, 145).
The term comics is used to describe maps
presented by military intelligence. The term is
fairly derogatory in nature as a slight against the
accuracy of the maps. It also refers to the brightly
colored layouts (Military, n.d.).
The semantics of the main as opposed to the
secondary is embodied in the gastronomic
nomination gedunk that is referred to snack
foods, such as candy and chips, as well as the
place they are sold. The following term is usually
associated with the Navy, and may be utilized in
the phrase gedunk sailor as a pejorative remark
for inexperienced sailors (Military, n.d.).
A metaphor for natural phenomena is the nomen
smoke that is used with the meaning “to punish a
service member with excessive physical work
due to a minor infraction” (Military, n.d.).
Structural Word-building Processes Used to
Form Military Slang Words
Compounding is one of the word-building
processes when one or more affixed or
structurally simple words are combined to form
new ones, for example, bulkhead (the interior
divider of a ship); sea daddy (a senior sailor who
mentors junior ones); wingnut (a member of the
US Air Force); glamour hat (a helmet);
waterwalker or waterdog (marines whose duty is
to purify water); Tony Hawk (a nickname for
soldiers who are excellent at avoiding any kind
of work); soup sandwich (a situation when a
person gets into a mess); tag chaser (a girl
chasing soldiers to marry them); slave suit (a
military uniform); pickle suit (a green flight suit
that looks like a pickle); pizza box (the lowest
marksman badge for a Marine shooting rifle or
pistol); hurricane party (a party held in the
barracks during the hurricane when the military
base is locked down); jungle juice (a mix of
different types of alcoholic drinks that makes
people fully intoxicated at the party); tail-end
Charlie (the last aircraft in the formation);
picture show (a big battle); alphabet job (an easy
task); rest camp (a cemetery) and many others
(Military Slang Dictionary, n.d.; Military, n.d.;
DOD, 2021; Pegler, 2014; Waker, 2021).
The word firewatch ribbon is used to name the
medal of the National Defense Service. It is
awarded to all military members during the
wartime events (Military Slang Dictionary, n.d.).
In this word firewatch is referred to the guard
duty that all military members do while they are
at bootcamps (Etymonline, n.d.).
A small ticket is used in reference to a
dishonorable discharge from the US Navy,
whereas a big ticket is used when an honorable
discharge is awarded (Dickson, 2004, 42).
A bird or chicken colonel is a military rank
designated by a silver eagle on each colonel’s
shoulder. When a colonel has such a rank, he or
she is regarded as a full colonel (Dickson, 2004,
140).
Fruit salad, salad bar, or chest candy refers to
colorful and bright chest decorations. Usually,
soldiers have a great number of battle stars and
service ribbons worn on the uniform jacket left
side (Dickson, 2004, 160; Military Slang
Dictionary, n.d.).
Affixation, including suffixation, prefixation, or
both, is frequently utilized to form military slang
words in the English language. For instance, the
suffix -ie, which has a derogatory meaning, is
widely used to create military slang words: digie
(digital camouflage worn by marines and
soldiers); swabbie or squidie (squidee)
(affectionate terms utilized by other service
branches members in order to describe members
of the US Navy); brownie (a Navy term applied
to name paper towels or any paper of the brown
color); woobie (known as a poncho liner, which
is one of the military equipment pieces, such as
pillow, sleeping bag, blanket, etc.; uniform
groupie (a person following people wearing a
specific uniform); man jammies (the robes worn
by the men from the Middle East, which are
similar to pajamas); doolie (a freshman at the
USAF Academy); dixie (a cooking pot used in
the field kitchen); hickie (anything whose name
people cannot remember); bunkie (a person who
shares a shelter or a bunk) (Military Slang
Dictionary, n.d.; Military, n.d.; Dickson, 2004;
Pegler, 2014; DOD, 2021; Waker, 2021).
The slang word wook or wookie is applied to
name a female marine in the US Army Forces.
There are two reasons why females are referred
to in such a way. The slang word wook stands for
the acronym Women Outside of Kitchen. The
second reason is that according to grooming
standards, women are allowed to have long hair,
which is very similar to a specific hero from The
Star Wars Series, wookies (Military Slang
Dictionary, n.d.).
The word crunchie is used to name the infantry
when they are on the ground. The following
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nickname originates from the crunch noises the
infantry produces when vehicles run over them
(Dickson, 2004, 268).
The suffix -er (-or) is considered the most
productive suffix in English (Etymonline, n.d.).
This suffix has several meanings in the English
language – 1) the doer of the action – eagle
keeper (F-15 maintainer crew chief); goopher
(a highly competent and experienced airman);
gravel or mud cruncher (an infantryman); pill
roller (a hospital corp); side-kicker (a sleeping
companion); top cutter or top kicker (a first or top
sergeant); woobler (an infantryman); youngster
(a first or second lieutenant); apron chaser or
jumper (a seducer); arm-dropper (an artillery
man who gives a signal to start firing the gun by
dropping his or her raised hand); chuck spoiler
(a cook); evader (a person who is isolated in
unfriendly or hostile territory who manages to
elude capture); snake eater (members of US
Army Special Forces); base operating support-
integrator, also known as BOS-I, (the joint task
force commander assigned to synchronize all
functions and actions for a contingency base)
(Military Slang Dictionary, n.d.; Military, n.d.;
Dickson, 2004; Pegler, 2014; DOD, 2021;
Waker, 2021).
2) the object utilized to perform some actions –
cum-dumpster (a mouth); digger (knife, forma
and spoon); donut launcher (a device fitting on
the end of the M16 rifle that fires donut-shaped
rubber bullets used to control riots); sicker (a sick
report from the doctor); go-fasters (tennis shoes);
goat locker (a room for Chief Petty Officers);
goldbricker (a shrinker); pinger (an anti-
submarine helicopter); scablifter (medical
branch rating) etc. ((Military Slang Dictionary,
n.d.; Military, n.d.; Dickson, 2004; Pegler, 2014;
DOD, 2021; Waker, 2021).
Abbreviations and acronyms, which are
considered ones of the types of shortening, are
widely used in the miliary field. The vivid
abbreviations and acronyms examples used by
the US and UK military are as follows: CW
(chemical warfare); F3EAD (find, fix, finish,
exploit, analyze, and disseminate); KFS (Knife,
fork, and spoon); RAM (random antiterrorist
measure); GOBI (General Officer Bright Idea);
NEST (nuclear emergency support team); PRISM
(planning tool for resource, integration,
synchronization and management); BOHICA
(Bend Over Here It Comes Again); QRF (Quick
Reaction Force); FOUO (for official use only);
CHU (Combined Housing Unit); COP (Common
Operation Picture); RHIP (Rank Has Its
Privileges); BOLO (Be on the Lookout); NLT
(No Later Than); SMIT (Senior Marine in
Training); WTI (Worse than Iraq); LALO (Low
Altitude Low Opening); LRA (Lowest Ranking
Airman); ND (Negligent Discharge); PNN
(Privates News Network); TNT (Tactical Nap
Time) etc. (Military Slang Dictionary,
n.d.;Military, n.d.; Dickson, 2004; Pegler, 2014;
DOD, 2021; Waker, 2021).
The abbreviation BGB (Big Grey Boat) refers to
large battleships or carriers that are usually grey
in color (Military Slang Dictionary, n.d.).
The acronym CAR (Combat Action Ribbon) is
earned by soldiers during the combat (Military
Slang Dictionary, n.d.).
The acronym M.A.R.I.N.E. stands for Muscles
Are Required, Intelligence Non-Essential. It is
used to name a member of the US Marine Corps
(Military Slang Dictionary, n.d.).
The other acronym GUPPY (Greater Underwater
Propulsive Power) refers to the class of the
streamlined submarines of the US Army
(Military Slang Dictionary, n.d.). Thus, it is
obvious that acronyms and abbreviations are
frequently used to form military slang words and
phrases in the English language.
Blending is a type of word-building where the
terminal or initial segments of the words are
joined to form a new word, for example, comint
(communications + intelligence); rescap (rescue
combat air patrol); polmil (political + military);
comnet (communications + network); pvntmed
(preventive + medicine); conus (continental
United States); polad (policy advisor); orbat
(order of battle); coop (continuity of operation);
optar (operation target); resprod (responsible +
production); netwarcom (naval network warfare
command); navspecwarcom (naval special
warfare command); infltrep (inflight + report);
geoint (geo-spatial + intelligence); exord
(executive + order) and others ((Military Slang
Dictionary, n.d.; Military, n.d.; Dickson, 2004;
Pegler, 2014; DOD, 2021; Waker, 2021).
Femarines, also known as leather nectarines or
jungle Juliets, comprises words female and
marines. It is worth noting that the Marines insist
that any gender or sex discrimination should be
avoided. Thus, the term Marines is to be applied
in reference to females (Dickson, 2004, 155).
The word alloreq (allocation + request) names a
daily message that is aimed at providing the total
air effort estimate, as well as identifying any joint
and excess force general support sorties and
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unfilled air requirements for any pre-planned
missions (DOD, 2021).
A phibron (amphibious + squadron) refers to an
administrative and tactical organization
comprising amphibious warfare ships applied to
transport military equipment and soldiers for
amphibious operations. In its turn phibop
(amphibious + operation) is an operation that is
launched from the sea by military forces to
conduct force operations within the littorals
(DOD, 2021).
A casevac (casualty + evacuation) is used to
name different unregulated casualty movements
that may comprise movements between or to
medical treatment facilities (DOD, 2021).
Colpro (collective + protection) is the protection
given to the individuals that allows relaxation of
biological, chemical, nuclear and radiological
protection (DOD, 2021).
Shortening belongs to one of the word-building
processes when initial, final or sometimes both
elements of the word are omitted or deleted on
purpose, for instance, cad-idiot (an idiot cadet);
Civ Div (civilian division or being a 100%
civilian); K-pot/helmet (Kevlar pot/helmet);
Septar (Seabourne-powered target utilized for
training); civi, civy or civvy (civillian); helo
(a helicopter); unsat (unsatisfactory used to
describe facilities or people that are not up to
par); sigint (signal intelligence); night op (a night
operation); ammo (ammunition); chute
(parachute) and others (Military Slang
Dictionary, n.d.; Military, n.d.; Dickson, 2004;
Pegler, 2014; DOD, 2021; Waker, 2021).
The word bro-vet (a veteran who always lets
other people know that he or she is a veteran and
expects that he or she must be honored for his or
her military service) derives from brother-
veteran (Military Slang Dictionary, n.d.).
Commo (communication) is referred to different
types of communication equipment or the
communication officers on the US battleships. In
the above-mentioned cases, the final elements of
the words are omitted (Military Slang Dictionary,
n.d.).
G-suit or anti-g-suit originates from nouns
gravity or anti-gravity and suit. The Air Corps
have been using such suits so that pilots do not
lose their consciousness while on duty (Dickson,
2004, 170).
Thus, it is evident that such types of word-
building as affixation, abbreviations / acronyms,
blending, and compounding are turned out to be
productive in creating slang words and phrases in
the English language.
Conversion is a type of word-building (also
known as zero derivation) when the word
belonging to one part of speech can become the
other part of speech, for instance, to ditty-bopper
(used to describe soldiers who march out of
synch with a cadence); to spearhead (to lead
other people); to goldbrick (to evade duties); to
pancake (to land flat); to pink (to strike with a
bullet); to police (to clean up); to soldier or to
officer (to serve); to solo (to fight alone); to strip
(to reduce in rank); to taxi (to drive a plane along
the ground without rising in the air or to acquire
the need speed to take off); to washout (to fail);
to bomb (to study quickly and persistently); to
brief (to instruct in regard to the up-coming
operations); to depot (to supply); to dust off (to
evacuate); to hat up (to change one’s location);
to ruck up (to get through a very challenging or
difficult situation) and others (Military Slang
Dictionary, n.d.; Military, n.d.; Dickson, 2004;
Pegler, 2014; DOD, 2021; Waker, 2021). As
evident from the corpus of the research, the
majority of words have become the verbs and are
used to name different actions and processes
performed by the military. In some case, we
observe the change in the meaning of the military
slang words.
Conclusions
Slang is one of the most interesting and, at the
same time, complex language phenomena.
Among linguists there is still no unified point of
view on both etymology and understanding of the
term’s essence and its place in the lexicon
system.
The distinctive features of slang in general and
military slang, in particular, are exaggerated
expression, dynamism, general familiarity and
broad usage within the military society.
Interpreting military slang will always be
challenging. Due to the fact that it is dynamically
developing and being updated, any dictionary
and reference books devoted to the problems of
military slang will inevitably “lag behind”
reality. Therefore, in order to provide an
adequate interpretation of specific military words
and phrases, the linguists will definitely need a
rather profound knowledge of military routine,
army regulations and traditions, the structure of
military units, their tactics, weapons and military
equipment used and so on.
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The knowledge of the slang expressions applied
by army personnel is also of great importance, as
the use of such language units can significantly
improve the military reality image presented to
general auditory.
The military slang vocabulary units have the
same formation ways that are characteristic of
general vocabulary (transfer of meanings
(metaphor), blending, shortening, conversion,
affixation, abbreviation and acronyms,
compounding, etc.).
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