"Snow Job" and others
Barry A. Popik
Bapopik at AOL.COM
Sun May 9 00:16:36 UTC 1999
ARMY TIMES had to be brought up from the NYPL Annex (three days). I
noticed a nice three-part list of army slang in October 1943. The newspaper
was fragile, so it had to go to Copying Services (another three days). I'll
probably post it Monday.
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SNOW JOB
OED has "snow job" from November 1943.
This was in ARMY TIMES, 11 September 1943, pg. 3, col. 4:
_Snowjobbing_
FORT DEVENS, MASS.--"Snow-jobbing" is the newest strictly GI term, to go
with "dogface," "goldbrick" and others. "Snow jobbing" is getting off a
smooth line, like talking yourself out of a hole, or managing to pull five
bucks from a buddy, or talking the sergeant out of a term of KP duty. If
you've made the five buck loan, after being told what a great guy you are,
then you've been "snow jobbed."
This correction was in the ARMY TIMES, 9 October 1943, pg. 4, col. 4:
_Our Mistake_
Gentlemen:
Where has your slang expert been all this while? In a recent Air Forces
edition of your paper, I noticed an item describing the term "snow jobbing"
as new in the army. You are quite mistaken. I first heard the phrase in
Hawaii over two years ago, and apparently it had been long in use by the
"dog-faces" even at that time.
Pfc. Ralph L. Miller, Keesler Field, Miss.
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OUR ARMY
I went through this publication looking for (but not finding) "army
brat." It appears that J. Lighter also checked OUR ARMY also, but he missed
these:
CHAMPEEN
Oct. 1930, pg. 10--Herbert C. Smith wrote a series of boxing stories
about Wes Hill, "lite-wate champeen" from South Little Rock, Arkansas.
("Champeen" is not in the RHHDAS.)
G.I. SOAPSKI
Jan. 1931, pg. 19, col. 1--Private G. I. Soapski is mentioned. G. I.
Joe probably appeared in OUR ARMY earlier than Oct. 1935.
B.O.
Feb. 1931, pg. 43--"Lifebuoy defeats 'B.O.' (Body Odor) in any climate."
(RHHDAS has Dec. 1931.)
WIPE THAT SMILE OFF YOUR FACE
Feb. 1931, pg. 16, col. 1--"Famous sayings--Wipe that smile off your
face." (Not in RHHDAS under "face.")
YO-YO (YA-YA)
Feb. 1931, pg. 20--"The Magic of Tatai Kuli." This was on page 46:
Lungran-yaya--'crazy plant'--is the visayan name for the loco weed of the
southern Philippines.
(...)
"It that lungran-yaya which make them Espaneesh go crazy, bughoos, loco!"
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