Rape Town, Gangster's Paradise (GP) and more

[James A. Landau]

In a message dated Sat, 24 Apr 2004 07:57:11 -0400,  Bapopik at AOL.COM
scribbleth

>  LAOS PDR--Supposedly, the People's Democratic Republic.  A fellow traveler
> tells me it means "Please Don't Rush."

Does the Laos PDR really go to the trouble of recruiting fellow travelers in
southern Africa?

>  SHORT ARM INSPECTION--Military term for a check for venereal disease on
one'
> s short arm.  My military friend here gave me this.

This is a well-known military term, in the OED2 with a first citation of
1919, with no reference as "US" so it must not be restricted to the US military.
Def "an inspection of the penis for veneral disease or other infection".
Your quote  "on one's short arm" makes no sense.  Perhaps "short arm" was
originally a metaphor for penis, recorded only in the sense of the VD inspection?

        - Jim Landau