cliner a woman.
cobber a buddy.
cow bad.
deener a shilling.
dingbats Italians.
dinkie cute.
dinkum the real thing; genuine; real. Jerries Germans.
knocked up tuckered out; tired; bushed. larrikin drunk.
Matilda a bundle of personal articles. nips the Japanese. Pommies Englishmen. punting betting. Sheila a nice-looking woman. shikkered drunk. shivoo a party. squatter a farmer. station a farm or ranch. stone a measurement of weight. stonkered shell-shocked. tucker food. zack sixpence.
Marines
belly robber the cook. boogies Japanese airmen.
boondockers field shoes.
boot a new recruit.
boot camp recruit training camp.
brig rat prisoner.
butcher a medical officer.
canned willie canned beef.
cattle boat a troop transport boat.
cub one who has not yet crossed the Arctic Circle.
deck ape one who swabs the deck.
ding how OK, derived from the Chinese.
ditty box a small box for personal articles.
dogface soldier.
dragon back one who has crossed the 180th meridian.
FiFi anyone's girlfriend.
flatfoot marine's nickname for a sailor.
48 a two-day leave.
frog sticker a bayonet.
gooks natives.
go to hell cap a garrison cap.
gunny a gunnery sergeant.
iron kelly steel helmet. Also known as a tin derby.
Jackson a marine's call to another soldier, "Hey, Jackson."
jamoke coffee.
joe coffee.
Maggie's drawers a red flag waved to indicate a complete miss of the target on a shooting range.
old issue an old marine.
padre chaplain. Also, Holy Joe.
pearl diver a marine assigned to kitchen duty, especially washing dishes.
pollywog a marine who has not yet crossed the equator.
punk bread.
ring tails gunner's nickname for the Japanese. run aground to get into trouble. scuttlebutt gossip.
shack mammy a native woman of the South Pacific.
sick bay a hospital dispensary.
sinkers doughnuts. Two for a nickel at the time.
slopchute a beer parlor.
swabby nickname for a sailor.
sweetheart one's rifle.
twist a dizzy to roll a cigarette.
Navy
admiral's watch a good night's sleep. airedale a naval aviation recruit. alligator an amphibious tank.
arctic boat refrigerator boat carrying meat. Also known as the beef boat.
armory the gun maintenance shop.
ashcan a submarine depth charge.
AWOL absent without leave.
baffle painting ship camouflage painting.
battlewagon a battleship.
belay stop that or shutup.
bells denotes the time of day. 1 a.m. = 2 bells, 2 a.m. = 4 bells, 3 a.m. = 6 bells, 4 a.m. = 8 bells, 5 a.m. = 2 bells, 6 a.m. = 4 bells, 7 a.m. = 6 bells, 8 a.m. = 8 bells, 9 a.m. = 2 bells, 10 a.m. = 4 bells, 11 a.m. = 6 bells, noon = 8 bells. Same cycle repeated for p.m. hours.
bilge water B.S.
bird boat an aircraft carrier.
blow a storm at sea.
boot a newly enlisted sailor.
boot camp a six-week naval training camp on shore.
brass the gold stripes on an officer's sleeve. brig an onboard jail.
brightwork any metal finishings that need polishing.
brownnose one who kisses an officer's feet; an officer's favorite.
buzzard any eagle insignia. calk off to sleep. canary a beautiful woman. canteen onboard retail store.
captain of the head one ordered to clean the toilets.
Chicago piano an antiaircraft gun.
cigar box fleet boats carrying landing craft, tanks, and infantry for a shore attack.
coiled up his ropes died.
collision mats waffles.
commissary bullets beans.
crow an ugly woman.
cut of his jib a sailor's appearance or behavior. EPD extra police duty; cleaning and polishing. fish a torpedo.
flashing his hash throwing up from seasickness. flying coffin a PBY navy patrol bomber. foo foo perfume.
forecastle lawyer one who claims to know all navy regulations.
four-oh 4-0; perfect; OK. four-striper captain.
French leave to leave a ship without permission.
funnels smokestacks.
furlough any liberty lasting over 72 hours.
galley ship kitchen.
gangway to get out of the way.
gig captain's private boat.
gilligen hitch an imaginary knot in a rope.
give it the deep six to throw it overboard. gob sailor.
gone native of a sailor, overly friendly with natives on shore.
gooks natives of the South Seas.
goos goos Filipinos.
hammock what a sailor sleeps in.
heave out and lash up morning greeting to get out of bed and roll up one's hammock.
honey barge the garbage barge.
houligan navy sailor's nickname for the Coast Guard.
katzenjammers the shakes after a night of heavy drinking ashore.
liberty shore leave of 48 hours or less. limey a British sailor.
mail buoy an imaginary mail box on a buoy; new recruits were told in all seriousness to leave their mail on this buoy for the mailman to pick up.
mast, called to the called in for a reprimanding by the captain.
mess meals; the meal room. mokers the blues.
mosquito boat a light, quick boat equipped with small guns.
muck up to clean up.
mud hook anchor.
old man the captain.
one striper an ensign.
ordinary seaman a seaman second class.
peacoat a waist-length, blue wool coat.
pigboats submarines.
pipe him aboard to welcome a high-ranking officer or dignitary aboard by blowing the boatswain's whistle.
plotting room a room where maneuvers were planned over maps and instruments.