Google Answers: Iraq Slang, the Big Apple

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IRAQ SLANG
  

Subject: Re: Army/Marine slang in Iraq 
Answered By: tutuzdad-ga on 12 Feb 2004 14:08 PST 
Rated:      
Dear kevo1957-ga;As I mentioned, we may not know the full extent of this 
issue untiltroops begin returning in larger numbers and we hear more of 
theirstories.  But since you are agreeable to accepting the ones I could asan official 
answer I am posting these references to “un-official”slang terms for you. I 
hope these help you better understand themilitary slang specific to the region 
and the times:It appears that the nickname for local Iraqi’s and indeed any 
Iraqiwhether he is friendly or not has become: “Haji” or “Hajji” and[plural] “
Hajis” or “Hajjis”:Hajji, of course, originally derives from those who have 
madepilgrimages to Mecca, but the name the name “Hadji” probably comesfrom the 
East Asian character in the cartoon “Johnny Quest” who alwaysseemed to find 
himself in trouble and had to be saved by the leadcharacter, an American boy 
named Johnny Quest. Hadji can been seenhere:
http://www.angelfire.com/realm/jonnyquest/images/hadji.jpg“I asked him what they call the Iraqis, he said "hajis". 
It seems thatevery time we send troops to foreign lands, they end up being 
very notimpressed by the native populations they meet and tacking nicknamesonto 
them.”FREE REPUBLIC.COMhttp://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/974771/posts“One of 
First Recon's officers, Capt. Stephen Kintzley, puts it thisway: "We get a 
few random shots, and we fire back with suchoverwhelming force that we stomp 
them. I call it disciplining the Hajjis," he says, using a nickname for Iraqis 
common among U.S.military personnel.”ROLLING STONE
http://www.rollingstone.com/features/featuregen.asp?pid=1707. . . . . . . . . . . . . Considered more 
offensive by some are these slang terms occasionallyused for locals:“The American 
soldiers refer to any number of Arab people as "Ragheads," "Towel heads," "Dune 
coon," and "Camel jockey."SCREEN IT
http://www.screenit.com/movies/1999/three_kings.html. . . . . . . . . . . . . The wealthy suburban area of Baghdad is 
known as “The Million Dollar Zone”:“The soldiers call Baghdad's Al-Kindi section 
"The Million-DollarZone" because of its villas owned by former members of the 
oldregime's Baathist Party.”PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/columnists/hiel/s_154986.html. . . . . . . . . . . . . 
Unexpected delays are called “speed bumps”“How fast they can cover the distance 
depends on the "speed bumps"they encounter, military slang for obstacles big and 
small, such asIraqi resistance, a chemical attack and logistical problems of 
thePentagon's own making.”GROUND TROOPS IN IRAQ MAY FACE UNKNOWN NUMBER OF 
OBSTACLES IN PUSH TO BAGHDAD
http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2003/030315-iraq01.htm. . . . . . . . . . . . . Former Regime Loyalists (FRL’s) of all types 
and those sympathetic totheir cause are called “Wahhabi”:“The FRLs include 
Baath loyalists, criminal elements and somereligious groups. These called 
Wahhabi, largely as local slang…”THE CURRENT MILITARY SITUATION IN IRAQ
http://www.csis.org/features/031114current.pdf. . . . . . . . . . . . . The country of Iraq 
is affectionately known by many as “The Sandbox”:“The Sandbox is military 
slang for Iraq.”MOCK WARFARE PREPARES GUARD FOR REAL THING
http://www.avpress.com/n/sp/troops/2003-03-19-588296.hts. . . . . . . . . . . . . Friendly Iraqis 
are called “"cooperatives”:“They're called "cooperatives" in the slang of 
Baghdad and they arefound in most neighborhoods.”NEWSDDAY
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/iraq/ny-wobagh0315,0,1799554.story?coll=ny-top-adrail. . . . . . 
. . . . . . . Highway 10 – Highway of DeathHighway 10 interchange – The 
CloverleafThe bridge over the Euphrates River – The George Washington BridgeThe 
area where the bridge is located – The Triangle of DeathTHE OBSERVER
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1120518,00.html. . . . . . . . . 
. . . . The US attempt to rebuild the infrastructure of Iraq is known as“
Improving the foxhole”:PETRIFIED TRUTH
http://www.petrifiedtruth.com/archives/001289.html. . . . . . . . . . . . . Mosul City hall was called “Fort Apache”:“
Afterward, U.S. soldiers had to retreat into the equivalent of CityHall, 
nicknamed "Fort Apache" by the soldiers.”LEAVE OUR COUNTRY
http://www.socialistworker.org/2003-1/450/450_02_Resistance.shtml. . . . . . . . . . . . . Interestingly, 
but not surprisingly, the Iraqi’s also have somenicknames for American Troops –
 “Ulooj” and “Tarateer”:“"Ulooj," they say, and while some use it with 
disdain and others morelightheartedly, it's unmistakably not a nice reference - 
though whatprecisely the ancient term from Arabic literature means depends 
onwhom you ask. Among the translations offered: pigs of the desert,foreign 
infidels, little donkeys, medieval crusaders, bloodsuckers andhorned creatures.”KR 
WASHINGTON BUREAUhttp://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/7638729.htm“…
Referred to Americans and Brits as, Tarateer; Iraqi slang forsomeone full of farts…”
WELCOME TO TOO FAR FROM REALITYhttp://www.toofarfromreality.com/If I run 
across more I’ll be happy to drop them off here for you.I hope you find that my 
research exceeds your expectations. If youhave any questions about my research 
please post a clarificationrequest prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I 
welcome your ratingand your final comments and I look forward to working with you 
againin the near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.Best 
regards;Tutuzdad-ga – Google Answers Researcher    


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---------------------   THE BIG APPLE
  
   Yes, it had to happen, and it's here today.
   The first answer?  "The Big Apple" comes from whores.  Only five links are 
given.  The fifth link is to that well known scholar, "Dr. Universe," who 
repeats everything that Salwen says about the whores.
   I certainly hope that this Google researcher is taking acid.  Not here is 
the mayor's web page for "Big Apple Corner," the Straight Dope, the Museum of 
the City of New York, the Gotham Center, or the New-York Historical Society.  
Gerald Cohen's book is not here because--well, who reads books?
   The second link of the five--just below the whores--is an out-dated web 
page of the New York Public Library's Research Library, where the Cohen-Popik 
work done in that library twelve years ago is never mentioned.
   The NYPL could have put a stop to this by making a really good and 
informative web site, but no....
  
    
Subject: New York Big Apple 
Category: Reference, Education and News > General Reference 
Asked by: keeter-ga 
List Price: $2.00   Posted: 20 May 2004 18:07 PDT 
Expires: 19 Jun 2004 18:07 PDT 
Question ID: 349717 
    
Why is New York called the Big Apple?   
    
Answer      
    
Subject: Re: New York Big Apple 
Answered By: easterangel-ga on 20 May 2004 18:29 PDT 
        
Hi! Thanks for the question.The answers to this question are varied and at 
times conflicting ones.I will direct you to different resources that attempt to 
answer thequestion. Some say it is because of a jazz, others say it came about 
because of horse racing, etc."Why Is New York City Called 'The Big Apple'?"
http://salwen.com/apple.html"How did New York City come to be known as "The Big 
Apple"?"http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/faq.html#apple"Why is New York City 
called the 'Big Apple'?"http://gonyc.about.com/cs/atozinde1/a/bigapple.htm"Why 
is New York City called the Big Apple?"
http://www.infoplease.com/askeds/2-4-00askeds.html"Why is New York called 'The Big Apple'?"
http://www.wsu.edu/DrUniverse/ny.htmlSearch terms used:  why is "New York" called "Big Apple"
  
I hope these links would help you in your research. Before rating this 
answer, please ask for a clarification if you have a question or if you would need 
further information.Thanks for visiting us.                              
Regards,                              Easterangel-ga                              
Google Answers Researcher