Army Slang (April 1917)

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      ARMY SLANG.
              Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File).       Los Angeles, Calif.: Apr 22, 1917.                   p. III22 (1 page)
           Chow.
      ARMY SLANG.
_Soldiers Bring Back From the_
   _Border Many Mexican_
   _Words Which Enrich_
   _Their Conversation._
   [Providence Journal:]  "Bring on the chow, only don't give me any slum," one guardsman told his mother on the night of his return from the Mxican border.  His mother naturally demanded a translation.
   "Why, chow is the army term for anything good to eat," the guardsman explained.  "Slum means soup.  I might say, 'Bring on the eats only don't give me any soup.'  That would be perfectly plain."
   Many of the guardsmen have come home from the border with an enriched and picturesue vocabulary.  Part of it is regular army slang; part of it is mongrel Spanish; it has sometimes shocked and sometimes amused the home folks.
   Most of the army slang relates to chow.  That is almost the most important subject of conversation in the army, anyway.  But the faltering Spanish phrases are an embellishment.
   "Please bass me the blood," a returned guardsmen is apt to say, pointing to the catsup.
   "Gracias," he will say, when his wish has been fulfilled.  Hardly any one on the border says "Thank you."  It is "gracias" and "gracias" it will be with the guardsmen for a long time to come.
   Nearly every one, even those not connected with the army, knows that "corned Willie" is canned corned beef.  The returned guardsmen hope they may never see it again.
   Some people are going to be surprised, however, when they hear guardsmen referring to "ole Bill."  "Ole Bill" is not a departed comrade, merely "corned Willie" under another alias.
   Returned guardsmen say they have sworn off drinking "blackleg."  "Blackleg" is strong drink, not alcoholic, however, simply the powerful black coffee served in the army to wash down the "willie."
   Beans are apt to be called "bullets" or "berries" in the army, according to their condition.  Hot cereals may be called "bran" or "oats."  Potatoes, of course, are "spuds" or "murphies."  All other vegetables are "greens."
   There is a little song which the men sing to the notes of the mess call, a complaint more often made in fun than in earnest.  It goes:
   Soupy, soupy, soupy,
      Without e'er a bean;
   Porky, porky, porky,
      Without any lean.
   Coffee, coffee, coffee,
      The worst you ever seen.
   The ungrammatical conclusion of the verse is conscientious.  Grammar isn't popular in the ranks of the army, and some of the Rhode Island men will have to practice to regain their old-time correctness of speech.
   Army men have borrowed from the circus in calling their mess halls the "big top."  Mess kits are called "china," and that is a real touch of humor.  The mess sergeant is sometimes called "the mess," and that, perhaps, is an unfair and deceptive abbreviation.
   Finally, of all the slang pertaining to chow, there is the "galloping goulash," otherwise known as "cooks mounted," or the "kitchen chariot."  The worst thing about the "galloping goulash" is that its chief production is "slops," thin soup not considered worthy to be called "slum."
   Some of the strangest lanugage in the army is heard on the picket line.   Horses are frequently called "goats" or "sheep."  Occasionally there is a "camel," a "giraffe," or a "juggernaut."  The term "outlaw" for a wild horse is not unusual, although the name "corrahu," common in Battery A, is.
   Automobile and horse terms have become crossed in some mysterious manner.  The owner driver speaks of putting a "shoe" on his machine.   In the army the horseshoer puts "tires" on the mules.  Long before the Rhode Island militamen went to the border a captain was "the old man" or "the skipper."  They have picked up other names for officers on the border.
   A lieutenant just out of West Point is a "shave-tail," because he has just changed his long cadet coat for the service uniform.  A general is a "big chief."  A colonel is an "eagle," because of his insignia.  Other officers get any nicknames that come handy.
   Even the noncoms have special names.  The first sergeant is always the "top."  Any sergeant is a "sarge" and any corporal a "corp."  Signal men are known as "boobs with flags."
   Infantrymen are always "dough boys," and this term has never been sufficiently explained.  One theory is that the infantrymen wrap their feet in fresh bread dough when they are swelled from long marching.  (Ridiculous!--ed.)
   A man who has served on the border will probably not say cavalry soon again.  In the ranks of the army, cavalry is always "calvary."  It is bad form to call it anything else in elisted men's circles.
   One term which the Rhode Island guardsmen picked up on the border is the Spanish "aborrotes" for groceries.  On the trip home, wherever a stop was made, a general store was always hailed with a shout "aborrotes."
   "Ciudad," the Spanish for city, is another word adopted by many of the men.  Likewise there is "toro" for bull and sometimes for beef.  "Adios" is the word used by most of the guardsmen in saying good-by to anyone.
   As long as the border service is remembered mud of any kind will be "dobe" to the militamen.  Adobe mud is really peculiar to the border country and Mexico, but nevertheless, all mud is "dobe."
   Probably the strangest habit of speech formed by the Rhode Island guardsmen on the border was calling camp "home."  That. however, is a habit already forgotten.