Soldiers' terms for German munitions
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by
cyngast
moderator
I came across this interesting little article while trying to find out what a "pineapple" shell was: http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_vault/2014/05/06/wwi_slang_soldiers_terms_for_germany_s_munitions.html It was written up as a recruiting piece for Canadians.
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Images for a Pineapple Shell in this article. Link: https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=Pineapple+shell+ww1
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by
cyngast
moderator
On your images link, I think in the photo in the seventh row down that shows several shells standing on end, the third one from the left looks most like the description in the Slate.com article. It has the fins that also gave it the name Fishtail and the squares that resemble the outside of the pineapple. The smaller pineapple-shaped things with a ring at the top are later-vintage hand grenades, also called pineapples; you see a lot of them in movies set in World War 2.
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ral104
moderator, scientist
Thanks, Cynthia - I sometimes come across the odd slang term which is virtually impossible to decipher. Rum Jars was new to me.
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cyngast
moderator
I came across another obviously slang term for a German weapon of some kind yesterday: Tart & Turk. I didn't find anything about it online, but I admit I made only a quick search. The entry read "Tart & Turk fired 6 rounds on our left." and went on to say that British artillery silenced them. It sounds like a trench mortar of some kind.
The unit was in the trenches west of Messines in February, 1917.
ETA: Now there is mention of trench mortars Tino (or Tivo) and Turnip. I'm beginning to think these are names the British have given to the particular positions of the enemy trench mortars. The enemy trenches are at the intersection of sections N, O, T, and U on the map, and the German trenches are named with words beginning with the letter of the section they are in, as in Nutmeg Trench, Ozone Trench, etc. Perhaps all these trench mortar sites are in the T section.
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ral104
moderator, scientist
That was my thought as I was reading the first part of your post too. After reading the edited section, I'm fairly certain that must be what it is.
By the way, I came across another slang term just now, which was new to me: toffee apple. A large german trench mortar bomb.
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Here are some 21 Fascinating Words That Originated During WWI includes Whizz-bangs and tanks: words for weapons
Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/word-origins_b_4904467PS If the page freezes, just refresh the page.
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cyngast
moderator
Great article, Marie!
Interesting to learn the origin of cushy. I have always thought it was just a slangy way of saying cushion.
I remember hearing unappetizing food being referred to as monkey meat when I was a child. I suspect it may have lasted in the U.S. Army through World War 2 and maybe beyond that. Haven't heard it since then, though.
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More Army War Slang. (Gooseberries) etc.
The diary page of the 9th Btn Royal Irish Fusiliers on 29th July 1916 states ‘increased our wire where necessary with knife rests and gooseberries’ (ie. Barbed wire entanglement or reel – from the prickly nature of the gooseberry bush). Diary page link: https://talk.operationwardiary.org/#/subjects/AWD0003f1q
The term ‘goosberries’ is included in another Interesting article containing more Army war slang. http://www.wakefieldfhs.org.uk/War Slang.htm
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