Glossary of Slang and Peculiar Terms in Use in the A.I.F.

Annotated edition

1921-1924

Edited by Amanda Laugesen

This is an annotated edition of the Glossary. There is the original entry (errors are corrected; the original manuscript retains all spelling and grammatical idiosyncrasies); a line providing information about the word (for example, if it was generally used, if it was Australian, and so on), the first date it was recorded, and a reference to other texts that attest to the word's usage. This is followed by some additional information explaining the word and its context. In some cases, a citation (a quote showing how it was used at the time) is also included. Links to webpages with further information about terms, equipment, events and other relevant aspects of the experience of the Great War have been provided where possible.

Entries with * are those that are identical to Downing's Digger Dialects. Others may be borrowed from Downing but are not specific enough to be marked. Some of those marked have been added to by Pretty. For an explanation of the relationship between the two texts, see the introduction. Those with the headword italicised are those added to the typescript of the glossary by hand by A.W. Bazley.

Abbreviations (for texts referred to in annotations).

This section contains a selection of AIF slangs annotated edition, their meanings, and their etymologies.

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All A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

T

Tabbie Girl.

General Australian. From 1918 (AND). Attested in numerous sources.

Partridge records that this was current from 1874 for ‘a woman’; the Australian sense is more ‘a girlfriend, sweetheart’.

*Tailie A man who backs tails in a game of ‘two up’.

General Australian. From 1919 (AND).

Digger Dialects is the first recorded evidence of this term.

Take a Pull To reform.

General. From 1890 (OED). Attested in numerous sources.

This is a phrase that is chiefly Australian and usually means ‘to stop or check (oneself); to pull oneself together’ (OED).

*Take a Tumble Arrive at a sudden understanding.

General. Originally US. From 1877 (OED). Attested in numerous sources.

Partridge records this as an Australian expression, but the OED evidence does not support this.

Take the Count To be knocked out or killed.

General. From 1902 (OED). Attested in Green and Partridge.

This term originates in boxing.

*Take to the Tall Timber To abscond.

General. Originally US. From 1845 (OED).

Tanked Up Intoxicated.

General. From 1902 (OED). Attested in numerous sources.

The ‘intoxicated’ sense emerged from ‘tanked up’ meaning ‘having drunk heavily’. By World War I, ‘tanked’ was in use meaning ‘drunk’ (F&G).

*Tap Demand; interrogate; borrow.

General. From the 18th century (OED).

These are figurative uses of ‘tap’ in the sense of ‘to open up’, ‘elicit from’. ‘Tap’ is often used in the sense of ‘exacting information or money (from)’.

*Tarp A tarpaulin.

General. Originally US. From 1906 (OED). Attested in Green and Partridge.

This abbreviation is often used in a military context.

Tart A girl. Apparently a corruption of sweetheart.

General Australian. From 1892 (AND). Attested in numerous sources.

The standard sense of ‘tart’ is ‘a promiscuous woman, a prostitute’. OED sees this as a figurative use of ‘tart’. In Australia, from the 1890s to the 1930s (and sparingly until the 1970s), it was used positively in the sense ‘girlfriend, sweetheart’. This may reflect the continuation of an earlier sense, in which the figurative use of ‘tart’ was positive, or it is perhaps a new coinage, based on ‘jam tart’, rhyming slang for ‘sweetheart’ (AND).

Tats Teeth.

General. Originally New Zealand from 1906; 1919 in Australia (AND).

Digger Dialects is the first Australian evidence of this term. The OED and Partridge suggest that this is often used to refer to ‘false teeth’.

Taxi, To

General Flying. From 1911 (OED). Attested in numerous sources.

Cutlack provides the following definition: ‘To run on wheels over the ground, or to move on floats over the surface of the water, with the engine running at a number of revolutions insufficient to produce flying-speed’.

Teapot Term commonly applied to the Fullerphone in the forward area when there was a possibility of being overheard by the enemy.

World War I. Attested here but not otherwise recorded.

The Fullerphone was a portable DC line Morse telegraph devised in 1915 by Captain (later Major General) AC Fuller of the British Signal Service. It was used extensively for communication in forward areas because its transmissions were almost immune from being overheard.

*Tear Off a Lump To accomplish.

General. Originally Australian. From 1919 (Digger Dialects).

According to Arthur and Ramson in Digger Dialects, this is probably a variant of ‘to tear off a bit (or piece)’ meaning ‘to copulate with a woman’, first recorded in 1941 (OED). Partridge records ‘tear off a piece’ in this sense. However, we cannot be sure that this is what is meant here or in Digger Dialects as no additional context for the term is provided.

*Tell Off To apply a verbal castigation; abuse; tell home truths to.

General Services. From the late 19th century (Partridge). Attested in numerous sources.

The OED records this term from 1919, possibly making it a World War I term, but Partridge believes that it was current amongst the Services from the late 19th century, and by 1919 it was in general use.

Thieving Irons Hands.

From the late 19th century (Partridge).

This is not a well attested term. Partridge records it as meaning ‘fingers’, otherwise it is only attested here and in Digger Dialects. ‘Thieving irons’ more often has meant ‘scissors’.

Three Ones, The A reference to the statue of Nelson in Trafalgar Square. The square was known to Australians as a favorite meeting place; and called the Three Ones Hotel. The ‘ones’ are Nelson’s one arm, one eye, and one posterior orifice.

General. From ca. 1860 (Partridge). Attested in Digger Dialects and Partridge.

Partridge records this as a ‘popular expression amongst Londoners’; it was obviously adopted by visiting soldiers during World War I. Digger Dialects cleans this up by referring to the three ones was ‘one arm, one eye and one pedestal.’

*Throw a Seven To die. Probably arose from dicing. It was impossible to throw a seven spot: it is humorously called a shooting case to do so if it were possible.

General Australian. From 1915 (AND). Attested in AND, Digger Dialects, and Partridge.

See also Tell Off.

*Tig (1) Extract a loan. (2) Wound.

(1) Attested here and in Digger Dialects but not otherwise recorded.

Arthur and Ramson in Digger Dialects suggest that this is ‘probably a punning use of tig ‘touch’, as in the game’, defined by the OED as ‘a children’s game, in which one of the players – usually designated tig or it – pursues the others until he overtakes and touches or “tigs” one, who in his turn becomes “tig”’.

(2) Attested here and in Digger Dialects but not otherwise recorded.

Tin Money.

General. From 1836 (OED). Attested in numerous sources.

OED explains: ‘Said to have been first applied to the small silver coins of the 18th c., which before their recall in 1817 were often worn quite smooth without trace of any device, so as to resemble pieces of tin.’

Tin Box Magazine of rifle.

World War I. Attested here and in Digger Dialects but not otherwise recorded.

Tin Hat A flat steel helmet for protecting the head against shrapnel bullets.

General military. From 1903 (OED). Attested in numerous sources.

*Tinkle-Tinkle An effeminate man.

Attested here and in Digger Dialects but not otherwise recorded.

Tinned Dog The preserved meat issued to the troops.

General Australian. From 1895 (AND).

Tinned Pot Contemptible.

‘Tin-pot’, general. From 1838 (OED).

Digger Dialects records this term in the standard sense, ‘tin pot’. OED provides a definition: ‘Resembling or suggesting a tin pot in quality or sound; hence contemptuously, without solid worth, of inferior quality, shabby, poor, cheap.’

*Tip the Wink Inform.

General. From 1676 (OED). Attested in numerous sources.

OED define ‘tip the wink’ thus: ‘to give a wink to a person as a private signal or warning.’

Tired Theodore A long distance shell.

World War I. Attested here and in Digger Dialects but not otherwise recorded.

This is one of the many nicknames given to shells and guns during World War I.

Tock-Emma Trench mortar. Signal pronunciation of the initial letters.

General World War I. From 1916 (OED).

This is another term based on ‘signalese’, see Ack.

*Togged to the Knocker Well dressed.

This expression is attested here and in Digger Dialects but not otherwise recorded.

‘Togged’ meaning ‘dressed’ dates from the early 19th century; ‘up to the knocker’ meaning ‘in good condition; in the height of fashion’ dates from 1844 (OED).

Tommy An English soldier.

General. From 1893 (OED). Attested in numerous sources.

This was short for ‘Tommy Atkins’ which was in use from 1883 (OED). F&G explain that it originated in 1815, ‘when the War Office issued the first “Soldier’s Account Book”, which every soldier was provided with. The specimen form sent out with the book to show how details should be filled in, bore at the place where a man’s signature was required the hypothetical name “Thomas Atkins”, (or, alternatively, for illiterate men “Thomas Atkins X his mark”). “Thomas Atkins” continued to appear in later editions of the Soldier’s Account Book until comparatively recent times.’ The term was made popular by Rudyard Kipling in his 1892 Barrack Room Ballads. It was in wide use in World War I.

Tony A Portuguese Soldier (Private).

General World War I. Attested in F&G and Partridge.

F&G explain that this was an abbreviated form of ‘Antonio’.

Too Right, Too True Most certainly.

‘Too right’, general Australian. From 1919 (AND). ‘Too true’, general. From the late 19th century (Partridge).

Tooth Brush A small moustache.

General. From 1915 (Partridge).

Toot-Sweet Quickly; immediately. ‘At the toot’, at once. Corruption of the French ‘tout de suite’.

General. Corruption of the French. From 1917 (OED). Attested in numerous sources.

Top (1) ‘To go over the top’, to go over the parapet of the trench, to take part in an attack. (2) ‘Top Hole’, First Class; excellent, the very best, ‘top stroke’. (3) The highest section of plating on the body of a submarine.

(1) General World War I. From 1916 (OED). Attested in numerous sources.

This originated in World War I, but has been used more generally subsequently.

(2) General. From 1899 (OED).

This is used in a similar way to expressions such as ‘top-notch’.

(3) Attested here but not otherwise recorded.

Top Off To kill.

‘Top’, general. From 1718 (OED).

‘Top’ originally meant to ‘to execute, especially by hanging’; it was later used more generally in the sense of ‘to kill’. ‘Top off’ is sometimes used in the sense of ‘to knock down (Dennis, Partridge) and in the sense of ‘to finish off’ (Lawson, Partridge).

Top of the House Number 99 in a game of ‘House’.

General. Attested in Digger Dialects, F&G, Green, and Partridge.

‘House’ is defined by the OED as ‘lotto played (orig. in the Army) as a gambling game with special cards and checks’ and dates back to at least 1900.

Touch (1) To touch with death, to have a close shave; a near shave. (2) To touch lucky, to have a stroke of luck.

(1) General World War I. From 1915 (Partridge). Attested in F&G and Partridge.

(2) General World War I. Attested in F&G.

Tourists 6/– a day tourists used as a term of derision for the privates of the A.I.F., particularly to the volunteers of 1914, because it was alleged by some that they expected the war to end before they could be fit to take the field, and therefore enlisted merely for the pay and opportunity to travel.

General World War I. Australian. From 1916 (AND).

C.E.W. Bean provides further explanation: ‘The sort of Australian who used to talk about our ‘tinpot navy’ labelled the Australians who rushed at the chance of adventure the moment the recruiting lists were opened “the six bob a day tourists”. Well – the “Tourists” made a name for Australia such as no other Australians can ever have the privilege of making.’ (Bean, Letters from France, 1916, quoted in AND).

Towelled Up Severely punished.

General Australian. From 1919 (AND). Attested in numerous sources.

‘Towel’ meaning ‘to beat, cudgel, thrash’ dated back to 1795. The ‘towel up’ combination is Australian. It also relates to the ‘oaken towel’, sometimes just ‘towel’, meaning ‘stick, cudgel’ which dates back to 1739.

Tracer Bullets

World War I. Attested in B&P, Cutlack, and Dickson.

These were incendiary bullets, devised to set fire to the object struck. ‘Tracer bullets’ were filled with a magnesium compound, ‘which left a trail of light or smoke and was intended solely as a guide in aiming the gun. It was very effective for igniting petrol tanks’ (Cutlack).

*Track Square To partake an amorous enterprise with honorable intentions.

General Australian. From 1919 (AND). Attested in numerous sources.

This relates to the Australian figurative use of ‘track’, ‘to track with’, meaning ‘to keep company with (a person of opposite sex), to court’, from 1910. ‘To track square’ is presumably an elaboration of this, with ‘square’ meaning ‘straight, honorable’.

Tray Beans Very well; good. From the French ‘tres bien’.

General World War I. Corruption of the French. Attested in B&P, Digger Dialects, and Partridge.

B&P and Partridge record this as being spelt ‘trez beans’. See trez beans.

*Treacle Miner A man who boasts of his wealth in Australia or his position in private life.

Attested here and in Digger Dialects but not otherwise recorded.

Trez Beans See ‘tray beans’.

See Tray Beans.

*Trick the Books Deceive; defeat by a scheme.

Attested here and in Digger Dialects but not otherwise recorded.

Digger Dialects provides the obvious context for this term as relating to bookmaking.

Tripe Rubbish; worthless.

General. From 1676 (OED). Attested in numerous sources.

This sense of ‘tripe’ is a transferred and figurative use of ‘tripe’, meaning ‘the intestines, bowels, guts, as members of the body’.

Tripe Roared Out Severely reprimanded.

Attested here but not otherwise recorded.

See tripe.

*Trot An experience, e.g. ‘a rough trot’, a bad time.

General Australian. From 1911 (AND). Attested in numerous sources.

This was usually used in the context of sport or playing a game of chance, and was particularly used in relation to the popular game of two-up. It is now also used in a broader sense to refer to a run of good or bad luck.

*Tug A rude or disorderly person.

General. From the late 19th century (Partridge). Attested in Dennis, Digger Dialects, Green, and Partridge.

Partridge suggests that this sense of ‘tug’ might have derived from an adjectival use of the term meaning ‘stale, vapid; common, ordinary’. The origin of this term is according to Partridge ‘mysterious’ but may relate to a dialect term ‘tug-meat’, a name for bad mutton.

Tumble, Take a To suddenly become aware of a joke against oneself or a mistake that one is making.

See Take a Tumble, To

*Turn Dog Betray.

General Australian. ‘Dog’, from 1848, ‘turn dog’, from 1863 (AND). Attested in Digger Dialects, Green, and Partridge.

‘Dog’ meaning ‘an informer, a traitor’ is of US origin, and in Australian English is generally found in the phrase ‘to turn dog (on)’.

*Turn Down Refuse; reject; ignore.

General. Originally US. From 1891 (DAE, OED). Attested in numerous sources.

*Turn Sour Become angry.

Attested here and in Digger Dialects but not otherwise recorded.

The phrase ‘to turn sour (on)’ is recorded by OED, meaning to become embittered, disenchanted. It is possible that the definition given here is simply a poor definition for a common and general phrase which dates back to the 14th century.

Turn-up A lucky event.

General. From 1873 (OED). Attested in numerous sources.

This originated in horse racing slang, by the 20th century it was used generally as ‘an unexpected turn of fortune’.

Twentyone Guns A salute. In the slang sense, used in reference to the personal salute.

Attested here and in Digger Dialects but not otherwise recorded.

This derives from, and is a jocular use of, the military ‘twenty-one gun salute’, provided at official occasions.

*Twist To change one’s course of conduct.

This exact sense attested here and in Digger Dialects but not otherwise recorded.

Two Eyes Right Certainly. See ‘Too Right’.

Attested here and in Digger Dialects but not otherwise recorded.

An elaboration of Too Right.

Two Up The most popular game in the A.I.F. The betting was on whether the spinner would toss the pennies on the ‘kip’ in such a way that upon striking the ground their heads or tails would be uppermost. Large sums of money were won and lost in this way.

General Australian. From 1884 (AND).

This game of chance has been associated with the ‘Diggers’ of World War I, and continues to be played on Anzac Day and at other selected places and times.

Typewriter Machine gun.

General World War I. From 1915 (OED). Attested in numerous sources.

This derived from the sound machine guns made when being fired.