WW2 slang: Does it still make sense ?

Exdigitate!

 

Regarding Griff & Gen, I have these 2 unit newspapers - "Jimmys Gen" is 15th Scotish Div Signals & "The Griff" is "L section 52nd Lowland Div Signals"

Alistair

 

My late father sometimes used an expression which I assumed was from his Army days.

When describing someone who had been in a fit of temper, he would say: ‘He went atchar.’

‘Atchar’ is what the word sounded like, but I’m not sure if that’s the correct spelling.

I also sometimes heard the same expression used by an old Army comrade of my dad.

I’ve often wondered what the origin was. Has anyone ever heard it?

 

Can't say that I've heard that one. The one I've heard which sounds similer, is a person went apeshit. so one might be the corruption of the other.

 

Tmac

Atcher ?...... Dont remember anything sounding lie that....... Perhaps you need to now what area your Dad served in.

You have reminded me however of "Doolally" which originated in India and was commonly used to describe someone who had gone mad because of boredom. A phrae often used in the Army overseas.

Ron

 

There doesn’t seem to be a very comprehensive dictionary of military slang yet out there? Though I may have missed it and someone might be aware of one? Often enough you can find a meaning by it’s presence in a general or slang dictionary or work it out by context perhaps, but it does throw you if it’s a term used otherwise elsewhere or even has the superficial look of someone’s name. Nick names too were throwing me a bit, “Spud” Taylor for example and the consensus there seemed to be “Taylor” was a well known seller of potatoes at the time, but Spud was also applied to the surname “Edwards” and “Murphy” (aka Irish). And the “Taylor” one was being debated a bit.

I was having a glance through this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_slang

And getting turned around by all the seemingly circular links and links to nowhere (wiki!!!)

And also this: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Glossary_of_military_slang#G

And there seems to be plenty of gaps in knowledge there, and unfortunately very little in terms of attribution or dates of first usage, which I think would be pretty handy in a dictionary:

Did find this though:
gone Elvis
(U.S.) Missing in action.

Interesting rephrasing of ‘Elvis has left the building’ perhaps?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_has_left_the_building

But I suppose there’s a slight chance it might date to his military career:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_Presley#Military_service_and_mother.27s_death_.281958.E2.80.9360.29

Though I don’t think he ever saw action as such.

Don’t know if “gone Elvis” was used prior to or during WW2? Seems to refer to his name though, so I guess perhaps not

 

Could 'atchar' be a corruption of 'at you', meaning he got up-close and aggressive?

 

Supporting 'griff' as a contraction of 'griffin', and taking it back to the First World War:

http://www.ict.griffith.edu.au/~davidt/z_ww1_slang/index_bak.htm

No explanation for it, but there's plenty of other examples to look at.

 

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts on my father’s use of ‘atchar’, which remains a mystery.

For some reason, I always assumed it was one of those Army expressions – like ‘doolally’, as quoted by Ron – which originated in India or some other imperial outpost.

However, it may have been, as Charley Fortnum suggests, simply a corruption of ‘at you’ or something similar.

Another expression my Dad used has just occurred to me.

We were from Merseyside and spoke Scouse, a very exclusive language. But when we were children, Dad would often be telling us to wash our ‘Germans.’

At that time, I’d never heard of Cockney rhyming slang (German bands – hands), so had no idea what he was talking about.

But many years after his death, I learned that one of his closest comrades during the war had been a young Cockney called Len Harvey and he’d almost certainly picked up the expression from him.

Len became a good friend and shared with me many reminiscences of my father. He died last year aged 90.

 

That's the way I read it too. I've known a couple of guys named with first name of Griff.

Internet says it's a Welsh name.

 

In my youth I more than once heard the expression, "I reckon that one's the product of a policemans torch"----------- I presume it stems from the blackouts, anyone dare to put their explanation for such a saying.?

Sorry not Sevices talk, but ww2 origins I believe, OH, and they were not talking about me.

 

Yesterday, daughter No.1 casually included "Mufti" in her conversation without realising she had done so.

I immediately translated it for her as "being in civvies" and checked it out on GOOGLE.

Perhaps someone will come up with a definitive list of words that are a hangover from military days ?

Ron

 

Ron, Doolally is beleved to be a corruption of Deolali, a rather ghastly camp in India.

 

What about "Buckshee" (Free).

 

Have a dek / dekko was popular when I was at school in the 60's - I later learned that it was from Dekho, Urdu for 'have a look'. The newsletter for my Dad's section of the RAFA was called Dekho.

I also include an unsavoury, racist term here for the sake of the historical record - 'wogged' - where I grew up in the 60's it was a widely used term for anything that inexplicably and frustratingly disappeared without trace, especially if given a high level of security. At the time it was used as if the perpetrators were mythical - e.g. like pixies. It fell out of general use when the term began to be used by racists to abuse immigrants in the 70's

 

Hi. I use the word atchar. My mother uses it too. Nestonians all use it. It means " really going at It" A BARKING DOG. we would say that dogs going atchar.

 

You've just brought the word 'Gertcha' into my mind for the first time in years.

 

British marching song we used to sing:
Aiywa (Yes) shuft (look) sigheeda (?)
Aiywa Arabaskee (?)

On the way to Ismalia
Shufti Bint (woman) in Arashee (?)

Eggs and Bacon, cheese and ham
Mongareeya (food) quighstaman (?)

Misquois (bad) - forgot the rest!

 

I think Bint comes from Malay, originally Arabic for daughter (of), followed by the father's name. Spell - earlier question - was in common use when I was at sea in the 50s and 60s; as in doing a 'spell on the wheel' and 'can you spell me while I go for ? In deepest Dorset atchar was an insect, a flying atchar!

Roy