FW: Modern War Words???

[John Doe]

"Shitbag" is the uncovered version of the cop-opera "dirtbag." "Pogey-bait"
has been around so long as Marine Corps slang that I'll leave further
comment to Jon. And "waddy/wadi/waddi," with the meanings cited, is an
ordinary word, long since borrowed from Arabic via Spanish, for anyone who
knows who Ken Maynard and his Wonder-Horse, Tarzan, were. For those of us
who lived through The War, "gold-star family" is no "euphemism." "Smoke"
reminds me of BE "bring smoke on" = "shoot at," but further deponent sayeth
not, given the existence of the non-violent "smoke over" = "look over,
examine; ogle."



On Wed, Dec 18, 2013 at 3:26 PM, Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com>wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: FW: Modern War Words???
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I'm pretty sure Combat Tourist, Hero, Smoke and Shitbag are quite old
> (smoke, for sure, and it's also old gang slang). That is, I've heard
> them before 2002. Some (hero) came from period films (including sci-fi,
> not just military docudramas). Others are documented more directly. Old
> military might be a better source on this than a fly-by-night observer
> like me.
>
>      VS-)
>
>
> On 12/18/2013 6:13 AM, David Barnhart wrote:
> > The following is from my nephew who was deployed in Afghanistan a couple
> of
> > years ago.
> >
> > Regards,
> > David
> >
> > barnhart at highlands.com
>
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--
-Wilson
-----
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-Mark Twain

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