Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1917-12-04
WRITES ON Use Of
SLANG BY SOLDIERS

WITH THE SOUTHERN TROOPS,
Somewhere in France, November g.
Back in the Southern Sunday schools,
days the Sammies from the South,
now in France. used to read about
the Tower of Babel Here in France
it's the real thing, We are right in
the center OF a modern Babel On
all sides Of our camp soldiers con-
gregate from all the hooks and corners
OF the earth, including Australians,
South Africans, New Zealanders, and
the troops from far India. not forget
ting our neighbors, the Canadians.
In the first few days of our camp
life we were not a little confused
when We happened to pick up a con-
yersation with these modern soldiers
from the other side Of the world. They
spoke in tongue not unlike our own,
yet strangely foreign to us. But j..
wasn't long before we picked up
phrases and expressions whicf we
found more brisk, and more in keep
ing with our surroundings IN COM
parison with the modern soldiers
speech, our slang seemed tame, stale
and old-fashioned And it was not long
before we found many of the new
words conveyed a deeper meaning
than our own. Take the word
'blighty," for instance This one
word brought to war zone by the dark
skinned natives of India is now in
universal use among the allied sol
diers. 1t is more deeply ingrained in
their hearts than the several express
sions my home" my country" my
flag for it carries a sense of each
of the phrases in the one word,
One catches above the monotonous
beat of soldiers feet marcing away
to the front snatches of martial airs
o. modern variety. And in the air
blighty" seems to linger longer and
stronger than any other one word.
"Blighty" is also the name of the most
popular magazine edited by the troop
ers and kept up by their well-wishers.
Our mess gossip is crammed with
borrowed phrases known as slang n
the conventional world of the states.
Perhaps our talk would shock our
prim school ma ans We say We are
fed up" when everything seems TO
wrong and we hunger for the sight
Of our home town depots. Then we
call bareback and biscuit +stran, and
a slice OF bullock's jaw" Then
again not few take advantage of the
mess table. The seem to think its
the time and place to 'parle off, on
their fellows a few trench idioms
Fortunately the performance is seldom
repeated. And the reason Imagine
the reception the crowd gavd this
sentence one of the boys used, when
asking for butter dome moi lie COW"
Then again there are few of us
who don't swing the eg, where were
fed W" In other words there are
a f,w Of US who do not loaf when we
are discouraged or down hearted. Then
L Is we crack the orders break
rules without getting caught But Il
we attempt, but fail TO crack the
orders we are put in the "clink,"
which means nothing more than pun
ishment There follows two hours ex-
ira sorubb ne every night Of fatigue
work, after retreat under a sergeant
who gets the wind up u.s. that is
rub orders, in till were almost will
irg to face court martial by disobey-
ing, At a time like this the sergeant
butts in with for fiOssiers you fell
lows take the bun" which being in
ttrpreted simply means for recruits
YOU fellows are worst ever laid my
digniied eye on" Then it these ser
geants find Imsh5," an Egyptian word,
heirs to sgcea thing up "Imshe" is
but a Gre-louarel word but i stands
for taia: Get up you pack eff LOAF
ers"
llyen the newspapers from the Sam
mics home tome towns have a nick