"Three hots and a cot" (1969)

[Gerald Cohen]

I remember this expression being used during the Vietnam War. A
newspaper article discussed why many young men (might have been
African-Americans, but I'm not sure on this point) were enlisting,
and the answer received from an enlistee was that you get "three hots
and a cot."

Gerald Cohen


At 11:30 PM -0400 10/19/03, Bapopik at AOL.COM wrote:
>    The CASSELL DICTIONARY OF SLANG has "1970s" for "three hots and a
>cot," meaning "three meals a day plus a bed for the night (cf. THREE
>SQUARES)."
>...
>DELINQUENT BOYS LEARN AT CAMPS
>        By JOAN LEE FAUST Special to The New York Times.  New York
>Times  (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Sep 28, 1969. p. 51 (1
>page):
>    For a day's work, each youth is paid 50 cents plus earning his
>room and board, or "three hots and a cot," as one youth described it.