bangomen

[Amy West]

bangomen seems to me to be a parallel construction to "thunder-junk",
so maybe it's also faux Oriental pidgin for soldiers (men who make
bangs).

---Amy West

>Date:    Sun, 5 Jul 2009 17:48:41 -0400
>From:    Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
>Subject: bangomen
>
>In the words of Ambose Bierce:
>
>             "Ours is a Christian army"; so he said
>             A regiment of bangomen who led.
>             "And ours a Christian navy," added he
>             Who sailed a thunder-junk upon the sea.
>
>A "thunder-junk" is (faux?) Oriental pidgin for "warship," so presumably the
>"bangomen" have something to do with the Far East. The Philippines?
>
>Neither OED or Google Books are any help.
>
>WTH?
>
>JL

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