Many military terms are used in everyday life.
These phrases are so popular that their military origins are long forgotten.
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Military slang has a long history, likely dating back to the time when people first hit each other with rocks and sticks.
Although military slang is fun, it can also be a fun part of everyday life. Problem is that if a phrase or word is too good, it can get lost in time and people forget its origin.
These are just a few phrases and words that come from military tradition.
1. 1.
Owen Humphreys, WPA Pool/Getty Images
It was possible for a man to lose his wife before the wedding due to any number possible dangers, rival bands, enemy leaders or random highwaymen.
He would then enlist his top swordsman to protect his back while he was concentrating on other things or keep an attacker away while the couple fled.
2. 2.
Shutterstock/R.M. Nunes
To be "way out in the boonies" these days means to be in the middle or in the sticks. The term "Boondocks" was used to describe the Philippines when it first came out.
Tagalog means "mountains". So when Filipino fighters informed American troops that they were heading to the bundoks in the 1898 Spanish-American War, they meant they were headed to their inner wilderness.
3. 3.
Shutterstock/Diane Diederich
Sorry, the term cowboy used to describe ranchers and vaqueros in the Old West wasn't used at all. They were often called cowhands or cowherders.
The term "cowboy", as it is commonly known, dates back to the 19th century.
American colonists loyal during the American Revolution to the British Crown were the original cowboys. They would form guerrilla groups and lure rebel farmers into ambushes by using cowbells to lure them in.
It was first used after the war to describe Texas criminals who raided Mexico.
4. 4.
As the Queen celebrates her official birthday on June 17, 2017, the Trooping of the Colour ceremony at Horse Guards Parade, central London, was held. Associated Press
According to the European military tradition, any officer disgraced was summarily expelled from his unit in the most humiliating manner.
The drummer of the regiment continued to play, so the officer would have his blade broken and his buttons removed. His charges were then read to the whole room.
The officer marched them across the parade ground to the beat of "Rogue's March" towards the regimental band.
5. 'Last ditch effort'
Shrapnel explodes in a reserve trench of Canadian lines during the Battle of the Somme in France, 1916. Reuters
The kind of fighting that occurred in the 16th and17th centuries required troops to move around in tight formations in bright colors.
They did this, but also built a series earthwork redoubts, and other protection places.
They had a number of trenches that they could use to get back up if things got really bad.
Everyone knew that by the time they reached their last one, it was imperative to do something extraordinary or else everyone would die in the last ditch.
6. 6.
An aviation cadet from World War II in training at Naval Air Base Corpus Christi, Texas. Howard R. Hollem/The Library of Congress
This term was first used in 1950 after the end World War II. It has nothing to do football or any other sport where yardage is a factor.
It is the length of ammunition belts that were designed for British and American fighter planes during World War II, which was approximately 27 feet (9 yards).
Pilots might use the whole nine yards when flying difficult missions or using lots of ammo.
