MadmanRick
Posts: 579
Joined: 4/9/2004
From: New York City, U.S.A.
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I can't believe that noone has come up with the really obvious ones such as "head", "galley" and "brig". "Head" being a navy term for bathroom, "galley" being a kitchen and "brig" being a jail.
There are also the following:
"Chewing The Fat" - originated in the 19th Century with seafaring men, referred to the tough cured beef that they ate. One man would sometimes chew on a piece for hours, thus "chewing the fat"
"Ahoy" - a Navy term used to hail other vessels, it was originally a Viking battle cry. It's most common use now is as a brand name, i.e. Chips Ahoy cookies.
"Above Board" - a term that now means someone who is honest and forthright, but it originated from the days of pirates when they would masquerade as honest merchantmen, hiding most of their crew behind the bulwark or below the boards.
"Knows the ropes" - another Navy term used on their discharge papers to mean that they were novice sailors and only knew the uses of the various ropes and not much else. Now it means someone who fully understands all aspects of an organization, quite the opposite of it's original meaning.
Army terms used commonly:
"Jeep" - Now used to refer to (most often) small 4 wheel drive vehicles, and a brandname owned by the Chrysler Corp. there are a number of supposed origins, the first being that it originated in World War II, when the Bantam Co. designed the small 4 wheel drive truck. It was supposedly called Jeep after the letters "GP" for general pupose. However there is some dispute of this with another possible meaning being that it came from the lettering system then in use by the U.S military, the "G" referring to government use and the "P" referring to it's 80 inch wheelbase. Either way, it's commonly used to this day.
"Tank" - the name by which armored vehicles, designed to destroy other vehicles are known. It is know used as a slang term to describe large vehicles, particularly Sport Utility Vehicles in the U.S.
"Humvee" (also "Hummer") - Another term originally used to describe a 4 wheel drive vehicle, it originates from the nomenclature HMMWV or High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle. It is now used as a brand name by General Motors for their civilian vehicles.
"Cammies" - a slang term that refers to camouflage uniforms. Now it's used to refer to any clothes that feature a disruptive pattern of any sort, mainly used as hunting and leisure clothes here in the U.S.
"BFE" - Originally meaning "Bum F*** Egypt", used to describe remote places. Now used in the civilian world also to describe those same type of places.
"Boonies" - a military term also used to describe remote places. Now common in the civilian world.
"Cap or Capping" - originally used as military slang to describe shooting at someone or something. Also now used in the civilian world, i.e. "They capped him".
"Chop - Chop" - A Vietnam era slang term that originally referred to food. Now used in civilian life to mean do it quickly.
"Lifer" - Originally used as a derogatory term in the military to describe a career soldier. Now it is used the same way in the civvy world.
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 "Our lives begin to end the moment we become silent about things that matter". Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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RE: Military Sayings in Everyday Life - 
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