[Ads-l] "War is months of boredom..."

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

In August 1910 the same newspaper, The Westminster Gazette, printed a
piece by the same pseudonymous author, Civis, that contained a close
variant statement.

Date: August 16, 1910
Newspaper: The Westminster Gazette
Newspaper Location: London, England
Article: The Territorial Trainings, 1910
Author: Civis
Start Page 1, Quote Page 2, Column 1
Database: British Newspaper Archive

[Begin excerpt]
"Months of monotonous fatigue, punctuated by moments of agonising
fear"--that is War, and the sooner the Territorial learns that
fundamental truth the better.
[End excerpt]

In the previous message presenting the 1909 citation, I incorrectly
listed two databases. The citation is in the British Newspaper Archive
and not in Newspapers.com

Garson O'Toole

On Sun, Dec 27, 2020 at 4:35 AM ADSGarson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Intriguing topic and excellent find, JL. Here is an instance in a
> London newspaper in 1909.
>
> Date: September 28, 1909
> Newspaper: The Westminster Gazette
> Newspaper Location: London, England
> Article: The Army Manoeuvres
> Author: Civis
> Quote Page 1, Column 3
> Database: Newspapers.com
> Database: British Newspaper Archive
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> Army manoeuvres on a large scale are not primarily intended for the
> instruction of regimental officers and men, nor, in point of fact, do
> they teach them anything but the virtue of patience. Just as war
> itself has not inaptly been described by an old campaigner as
> consisting of weeks of intolerable boredom, punctuated by moments of
> agonising fear, so Grand Manoeuvres are, so far as the rank-and-file
> are concerned, made up of periods of laborious marches and intense
> discomfort, varied by impossible tactical situations.
> [End excerpt]
>
> Garson O'Toole
>
> On Sat, Dec 26, 2020 at 3:10 PM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > This is now a well-known proverb, usually in the form "months of
> > boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror."
> >
> >  London Times (Nov. 4, 1914), Sec. II, p. 5:
> >
> > “THE BAPTISM OF FIRE — CAVALRY SUBALTERN’S VIVID EXPERIENCE…Some one
> > described this war as ‘Months of boredom punctuated by moments of terror.’”
> >
> > Daily Advocate (Stamford, Conn.) (Dec. 9, 1914), p. 5:
> >
> > “LONDON….The following…account of the war was written by Lieut. H. O. Anne,
> > of the Royal Field Artillery: … ‘One of our officers, after the South
> > African War [1899–1902] described war as a period of intense discomfort
> > punctuated by moments of abject terror.’”
> >
> >
> > JL
> > --
> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org