#Another phrase for biting the bullet series#

“No man’s land” was widely used by soldiers to describe the area between opposing armies in their trenches in World War I. Meaning: Dangerous ground or a topic that it is dangerous to discuss So, someone engaged in fierce fighting, even metaphorical fighting, is “in the trenches.” 10.

#Another phrase for biting the bullet series#

In World War I, most of the war occurred along a series of trenches that would flip ownership as one army attacked another. Troops defending a position will dig trenches to use as cover during an enemy attack, reducing the chance they’ll be injured by shrapnel or enemy rounds. Meaning: Stuck in a drawn out, tough fight. “Got your six” and the related “watch your six” come from service members telling each other that their rear is covered or that they need to watch out for an enemy attacking from behind. Whichever direction the vehicle, unit, or individual is moving is the 12 o’clock position, so the six o’clock position is to the rear. Military members commonly describe direction using the hours of a clock. The exclamation became part of airborne culture and the battalion adopted it as their motto.

Paratroopers with the original test platoon at Fort Benning, Georgia yelled the name of the famous Native American chief on their first mass jump. “Geronimo” is yelled by jumpers leaping from a great height, but it has military origins. Usage: Yelled when jumping off of something Snafu and his brothers Tarfu and Fubar were voiced by Mel Blanc of Bugs Bunny and Porky the Pig fame. The Army actually used SNAFU for the name of a cartoon character in World War II propaganda and instructional videos. FUBAR stands for “F*cked up beyond all recognition,” SNAFU is “Situation normal, all f*cked up,” and TARFU is “Things are really f*cked up.” FUBAR and SNAFU have made it into the civilian lexicon, though the F-word in each is often changed to “fouled” to keep from offending listeners. Meaning: Everything about the current situation sucksĪll three words are acronyms. It’s been employed in reference to police officers as well as political canvassers.

It can now be used to refer to any persons sent out to walk the ground in an area. After the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, the term saw wide use and has ceased to refer exclusively to military operations. Volney Warner, “boots on the ground” is used to mean troops in a combat area or potential combat area. Meaning: Ground troops engaged in an operationĬredited to Army Gen. Francis Grose published the book, “ Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue” in 1811 and used “chew the bullet” to explain how proud soldiers stayed silent while being whipped. Meaning: To endure pain or discomfort without crying outįighters on both sides of the American Civil War used the term “bite the bullet,” but it appears they may have stolen it from the British. Obviously, this would put the ball of the control stick all the way out from the pilot and against the firewall. When a pilot really needed to zoom away, they’d also push the control stick all the way forward, sending it into a dive. Pushing the accelerator all the way out (“balls out”), would put the ball of the lever against the firewall in the cockpit (“balls to the wall”). Their control levers had balls on the end. Meaning: To go as fast as one possibly can.įrom military aviation where pilots would need to get their aircraft flying as fast as possible.