Slang - abbreviations, acronyms and other info/data

Koen

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Slang - abbreviations, acronyms and other info/data

« on: 5 July 2009, 15:54:17 »

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AO: Area of Operations
boots: green Marines (inexperienced)
C-4: plastic explosives US
camo: camouflage
FNG: F___'g new guy
FSB: Fire Support Base
FB: smaller version of FSB
Funny Money: nickname for Military Payment Certificates (currency)
Grunts: nickname for infantrymen
Hanoi Hannah: North Vietnamese radio propaganda Disc Jockey
lbs: pounds: 1kilogram=2.20pounds / 1pound=0.45kilogram
Leatherneck Corner: nickname for the Northwestern most portion of Quang Tri province in South Vietnam, due to predominant USMC presence in defending that area.
LZ: Landing zone (choppers)
OBJ: objective
PRC-25: radio: http://www.prc68.com/I/PRC25.shtml
Prick: nickname for the PRC-25 radio
Puff the Magic Dragon: AC-47 gunship
SOP: Standard Operational Procedure
Spooky: AC-130 gunship
RVNAF: Republic of Vietnam Air Force
USAF: United States Air Force


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the_13th_redneck

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The real story behind "gook."

« Reply #1 on: 3 October 2009, 03:59:09 »

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There are many theories and urban legends regarding its meaning and source of origin.
So here is how the word really originated.

Back in the Korean War, when the Americans would show up (usually parading down a road with liberated civilians on either side) the Koreans would say "Mi-guk." This is Korean for "USA" or "America." So the crowd was really cheering for the USA. But for the GI, it sounded an awful lot like "Me, Gook." So the slang stuck. The slang stayed after the war and was still around during Vietnam. New soldiers with no connection to Korea learned it and used it and the source of the word was a mystery.
Similar would be the word "bookoo." There are many stories that say it's a Vietnamese word. It is not. It is the French word "beaucoup."


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Rattler

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Re: Slang - abbreviations, acronyms and other info/data

« Reply #2 on: 3 October 2009, 04:11:25 »

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Interesting, 13th. I always had wondered what it meant... Another mystery solved.

Rattler


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Mad Russian

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Re: Slang - abbreviations, acronyms and other info/data

« Reply #3 on: 19 October 2009, 05:52:17 »

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There are lots of words that come from Vietnam that were French in origin.

A lot of the phrases are mixed Vietnamese and French. Much like TexMex along the US Mexican border, which is a mixture of Mexican and American.

Good Hunting.

MR


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