Digger slang
Digger slang, also known as ANZAC slang or Australian military slang, is
First World War
The first influence on Digger slang was
The men of the Australian Imperial Force, and the women who nursed them, coined many words of Digger slang, including "Blighty" for Great Britain (it being the name for a wound severe enough to get one returned to Britain for hospitalization), "chocolate soldiers" (and thence "chocs") for soldiers who were believed to be unwilling to fight, and "six-bob-a-day tourists" for the soldiers themselves (a reference to their daily wages of six shillings).[2]
As well as gaining slang versions of many French words from the areas in which the soldiers fought, such as "
Many military-related words and phrases were also coined. The slang name "daisy-cutter", for an anti-personnel bomb, originated with Anzac slang, for example. Soldiers lived in "dugouts", fired from "possies" (positions), and fought against "Johnny Turk" or "Jacko". And they suffered from the "Gallipoli Gallop", dysentery. Like the U.S. Navy's "scuttlebutt", rumours shared amongst soldiers around the water-wagons, manufactured by Furphy & Sons, were known as "Furphys".[2]
Some of the slang originated in the street slang of the larrikin pushes, such as "stoush" for "fight", which led to such words as "reinstoushments" for reinforcements. One of the essential components of the slang was the prolific (for the time) use of swearwords.[1][2]
Much of this slang was collected by W. H. Downing in his book Digger Dialects, which was published in 1919 (and reprinted in 1990).[4][5]
Second World War
The second influence on Digger slang was Australia's involvement in the Second World War. Some of the soldiers who had fought in the First World War perpetuated Digger slang into the second. These "retreads" were fit enough to return to action and continued the use of terms such as "bint", "backsheesh" for money, "shoofti" for a look around (borrowed via British slang from Arabic), and "guts" for news and information.[2]
Several slang words and phrases evolved. What in the First World War had been a "base bludger", someone who hangs around headquarters avoiding the fighting (from "
Many slang phrases were expressions of malcontent, such as "wouldn't it root ya?!", an expression of disgust, which came in many
One significant source of slang were the
There were many other Digger slang words and phrases coined during the Second World War. Two of the most notable are "wheelbarrow" for a conscript (because he had to be pushed) and "doover", a general name for just about anything at all. Others include "snarlers", who were soldiers from the Middle East who were "SNLR" ("Services No Longer Required") and sent home on "three P boats" (troopships that contained "pox, prisoners, and provosts").[2]
Korean and Vietnam Wars
The third influence on Digger slang were
The Korean War introduced further words to Digger slang, which were re-used in the Vietnam War. One such was "
Modern Operations
Australia's involvement in numerous United Nations peacekeeping operations, regional stabilisation operations such as Bougainville and Solomon Islands, as well as East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan, have created new opportunities for Diggers to work and interact closely with soldiers and civilians from other nations. In Iraq, a local man was known as a "
A lazy Digger was known as a "jackman", "jack", or "oxygen-thief". "Jack" is most commonly used as an adjective for a person or behaviour that places the individual performing the action's interests ahead of those of the team. The term "Quoinker" is used to describe someone who would suck up, befriend or attempt to please persons of higher rank. This expression would also be used by mates of a soldier as they received an award, accolade or just general praise for a job well done. This is done by the soldiers mates to remind the praised soldier that they are not getting the award for hard work but for "Quoinking" "Dink Dink" refers to someone who wears eye glasses , "Dink Dink" is the sound the glasses make when they hit the ground after the wearer is knocked down / killed .
Due to the institutionalised nature of military weapons training in Australia, a number of metaphors associated with rifle ranges were applied to operations. Combat was known as the "two way rifle range", returning fire to the enemy was known as "putting a few rounds down range", and coordinating Diggers for a large, long, boring or mundane job was known to be as exciting as a "brass party at Gallipoli" (brass parties painstakingly collect all of the expended ammunition cartridges off the ground at the completion of a rifle range practice). The boredom or repetitive mundane aspects of operations were described by the term "living the dream" or the American term "Groundhog Day".[citation needed]An item of equipment that is either of high quality or particularly useful may be described as "gucci." These items are almost invariably not standard issue.
Some slang has retained significant longevity and while finding its origins in previous conflicts are nevertheless still used by Diggers today. For example, medals were known as "
Some Digger slang entered mainstream Australian English vocabulary. Some examples of this were "
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7022-3447-7.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-86840-680-0.
- ISBN 978-0-85045-418-5.
- ISBN 978-0-415-31506-7.
- ISBN 978-1-86395-166-1.
- ^ Hardiman, Graeme. "The Malayan Emergency. 2RAR 1956/57". 2RAR. Digger History: an unofficial history of the Australian & New Zealand Armed Forces. Retrieved 2007-11-05.
I remember the spoon come tin opener that was in later years nicknamed "Fred" (F***ing ridiculous eating device)
Further reading
- ISBN 978-0-19-553233-3.)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - Sidney John Baker (1966). "VIII: Australia at War". The Australian Language: An Examination of the English Language and English Speech as Used in Australia, from Convict Days to the Present. Sydney: Currawong Pub. Co.