31 Phrases That Only People In The Military Will Understand

Business Insider ^ | JAN. 2, 2014 | GEOFFREY INGERSOLL

[US Navy Vet]

Every region of the country has its own unique phrases, but they have nothing on the complex lexicon shared by people in the military. Aside from the way uniformed folks seem to speak in acronyms — "I was on the FOB when the IDF hit, so I radioed the TOC" — there's also a series of commonly used phrases which deserve some attention.

[Doogle]

for those who went through Lowry AFB...”beeps”..*smiles*

[InterceptPoint]

Thanks.

Pogy bait. Brings back nice memories.

[redfreedom]

Staff Private (when Army E3 changed to a mosquito wing and a rocker)

Slick (UH-1)

Snake (AH-1 Cobra)

Skid Row (parking area for helicopters)

Jesus Nut (nut that holds a main rotor on)

Ma Deuce (50 cal MG)

[ThomasPaine2000]

FIGMO I’m short.. and the reply is “how short are you”
The answer: I’m so short I need a step ladder to take a P**s(Fill in the rest)THERE ARE THOUSANDS

[greatvikingone]

S.O.P.

[Fresh Wind]

“HMFIC”

Had to look that one up. I knew it as MFWIC (MF what’s in charge). Pronounced “muff-wik”.

[DariusBane]

Kiwi injection = motivating a soldier.

[Mark17]

I always heard it as HMFWIC, head mother rooster, what’s in charge.

[DariusBane]

FEBA = False Enthusiasm Bullshiite Attitude

[redfreedom]

Ref FUBAR

We recently watched a 1950’s era documentary on WWII, and in the first few minute it showed official footage of a Navy boat of some sort with very large letters saying FUBAR. It was a good laugh, I bet few people knew what it meant.

[Mark17]

The answer: I’m so short I need a step ladder to take a P**s(Fill in the rest)THERE ARE THOUSANDS

I could do 15 minute free falls off a piece of paper.

[DariusBane]

Fort Lost in the Woods

Fort Beginning

[Squawk 8888]

“Klick” is a common term used by civilians in Canada, where all the road signs are metric. Another common term, especially among motorcyclists, is “buck —”, referring to speed. “I was doing a buck twenty” means 120km/h, roughly 65mph.

[rabidralph]

Mmmmm, gedunk!

[higgmeister]

What I was thinking.

[Mark17]

Three green, pressure’s up.

[Squawk 8888]

Is that a reference to the brand of boot polish we were issued?

[DakotaGator]

Originally, the term pogue was a sexual insult in early twentieth century homosexual culture, as “pogue” was slang for a young male who submitted to sexual advances. Pogue bait was candy and other sweets used to attract them.

Later in history pogue bait could be obtained at the gedunk bars (snack bars) of larger warships in the US Navy. This eventually evolved into sea service personnel referring to any type of snacks as gedunk while the term pogue bait lurked in the sinister shadows of service memory.

[rfreedom4u]

A$$holes and elbows!

[yldstrk]

yeah Fort Lost in the Woods