WAR SLANG

Southland Times, Issue 18851, 17 June 1920, Page 2

WAR SLANG

“BUCKSHEE” COME TO STAY. In the opinion of Professor E. R. Holme, Professor of English at the Sydney University, the word “buekshee”, the soldiers’ rendering of the familiar Arabic "backsheesh,” is one of the war slang terms that, will last. The professor, "’ho has just returned to his home after having done war work in Groat Britain, points out that while the word backsheesh was familiar enough in a literary sense, it never had the wide appmcanon it now has among all the men who have been to the front. It is a convenient word for which there is not an exact equivalent. In the Army it wits used in even a wider sense than the Arabs give it. The meaning in Arabic is a “tip,” and .t is also used in the sense of “alms.” In the Army it has become a portmanteau sort of word, and means “something for nothing.” "free,” “honorary.” and has a dozen other similar shades of the original significance. For instance, the parcels the good people of New Zealand used to send over were “buckrhce.” Stripes that were given a man merely because he held a job in the orderly room or some similar post were “buckshee.” Anything or anybody over and above the establishment was “buckshee” —and so on with the cheerful disregard of etymology that the soldier displays when lie gets hold of a few tag ends of a foreign language. 1-reach is such a familiar language that it is extremely doubt fid whether many of the corruptions used by the soldier will live “Napoo,” for instance, is too grotesque tor

“there is no more” to live. In Egypt and Palestine the troop? picker! out many picturesque phriises from the Arabic, particularly the graphic and peremptory expletives, but it docs not seem likely that they '.till

attain the popularity of the word singled out by Professor Holme. “Imshie!” “Iggcry!” will probably be heard on many a farm for a long time to come, but with the passing of the generation of returned soldier? such terms will probably go back to their Eastern home without leaving a trace behind. A trooper?’ coinage which had a rons;i;■ (-ruble vogue toward? the end of (.he stay in Egypt was "Let u? kam lilooce tt.” That meant "Let’s go and sell it.” from the Arabic "Bi kam filoore?” (How much?: That was in the days when the troops were hard up, and used" to do a little private dealing with any stray "wall.ul” that hankered "after the possessions of the man in khaki.

The Australian? pride themselves on their slang, and some of them regard Denis's poem? as little short of national literature One of them overshot the mark in an amusing way at a place called Richon le Zion, a Jewish colony about six miles from Jaffa, where the colonials often camped. There are world-famous wine collars at Richon — among the biggest in existence--and, seeing a colonial who had been sampling more than one of the vats, a Jew pointed at him and remarked “Shikhur.” “By .lingo,” said an Aussie standing near, “they havn t been long picking up our lingo, have they ’ He evidently thought that “thicker’' (meaning to be more or less under the influence' was native to Australian soil, and did not know it was good Yiddish.

An Australianism that was very common in the East was “Turfy,” meaning a tarra diddle or a rumour upon which no reliance could be placed—a very useful word in camp. “Oh, that’s a furfy,” was heard a dozen times a day. This recondite expression embalms the memory of an old fellow —lrish, of course —who drove the water cart at one of the big training camps in Australia. “Where did you get that?” would be asked when anything unusual was bruited abroad. The reply “Furfy told me” was so often tagged on to a tale which proved to be more than improbable that the old Irishman's name became a synonym for the unbelievable. The French compiled a dictionary of their var slang, and it seems a pity no one has bought it worth while to do the same for he British armies.