The term was used in reference to conscript officers in the Portuguese Army of the 1960s and 1970s and has been translated as "temporary gentlemen". The temporary gentlemen served on active duty alongside regular army officers in colonial wars including the Guinea-Bissau War of Independence. The regulars characterised the temporary gentlemen as "just doctors or lawyers in uniform", though one temporary lieutenant stated that "the felt that they were being used to do the dirty work". A common saying among the temporary gentlemen was "I'm fed up with this place! I'm fed up with them [the regular officers]! Get me out of here!".