Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 9.djvu/507

 iikix.Noy.i9.i92L] NOTES AND QUERIES. 417 invariable order that passed along at night when the German 'planes came over us behind the line, while "all clear" allowed us to re-light our candles. The list has " stand-to," but why not " stand- down," which ended that depressing cere- mony ? Tn this class I miss many familiar friends. So far as my experience went an inebriated man was almost always described as "lit." And what of such expressions as " hard skin " (a man who feared neither the enemy nor the authorities) ; " all cut " (to describe one's state of mind three minutes before parade when one's equipment was uncleaned and lying in bits about the tent ; or indeed to indicate any mental confusion) ; the famous drill order, " As you were ! " which was used in conversation to wash out statements when you suddenly realized you had made a mistake ; and " lash-up " (to describe the failure of any organized undertaking : an attack that failed or a manoeuvre that came to grief was always " an absolute lash-up "). What of the man who had been " soaked " for a fatigue, but who by " working his head " had managed to " touch out " for " a soft job," or "a bobby's job " ? These words were as the very breath of life to us. The Army discipline produced : the man whose mental agility was entirely devoted to dodging unpleasant work and duties. What of that most despised of all characters, the " s k-h e," who would stoop to anything to curry favour with his superiors ? This shocking word was often flung in jest at a man cleaning his equipment with too much care ; or who showed civility to an N.C.O. or officer. And what of the artful one who could always " wangle " things out of the au- thorities ? Or of the chatterer who would be told to " cut it out," or " lie on his side," or " give it a rest," or even to " beat, it " (clear out), because he was " talking wet " (i.e., foolishly, or "through his hat")? Or of the constant appeals for " fair doos " made to those who were inclined to claim more than their share ? Or of the things so out of the range of possibility as to be " not on the map " ? A bed was very often called a " cart," and when it was made a man would " get down to it," but if he " whacked it back " too long after " revally " his neighbour would rouse him with, " Up in the morning's the game ! " A man with a pleasant job would remark, with the terms of his enlistment in mind, that he " could do that for the dura- tion " ; indeed " the duration " (with the end of the war never in sight) stood in his mind for a period approximating almost to "donkey's years." If you were "too slow to catch cold " you would be ordered to " get a move on." A man who had had a "skinful" became "well oiled"; and if he spent too much money on drink would be " up the pole " in a different sense from that given in the list. " Send it down, David ! " greeted every shower of rain, especially when it might wash out a parade. The usual answer I heard given for a man absent from parade was " Gone ashore for a loaf ! " An N.C.O. of recent standing was inclined to " throw his weight about " ; and to make the stock claim of his kind that " we do the thinking." There could be no better comment on the arrival of some officers with recent commissions than that the au- thorities " must have opened another tin." Any claim to a well-ordered home or sug- gestion of a superior education would be met with the cutting retort that you were " talking well-off " ; and a friend who kept you waiting or who made an unreasonable demand (such as for sugar in the tea !) would be asked, " Do you know there's a war on ? " " Thank God we have a Navy," was a fre- quent comment on lack of skill in any mili- tary accomplishment. A man set to some useless or unpleasant task would murmur philosophically, " Anyway, its winning the war " ; and the same remark would greet an elaborate changing of the Guard. " Clean and polish, clean and polish, until the enemy is finally crushed," he would sardonically remark as he wearily endeavoured to bring his equipment to such a state as would ensure his not appearing " scruffy " on parade. " Where are you working ? " was a ques- tion one heard on all sides, in tones ranging from entreaty to indignation, as one soldier questioned the disposition of another's gear. The selfish would be rebuked with, " It's all ' yu, Jack, I'm in the lifeboat,' with you." The stentorian " That man ! " of the drill-sergeant who did not know some un- ! fortunate's name, was often used to attract a friend's attention. A mediocre perform - " nothing to write home about." A smart and popular officer would be eulogized as
 * ' head- worker " was the finest flower that
 * ance of any kind would be characterized as