But in Marine-speak, kill can mean “yes, I understand,” “hell yeah,” or “let’s do this.” Marines will even say “kill” as a half-joking version of hello. Common usage: “Hey grand old man, what was it like serving with Jesus?” But most of the time when this phrase is used, it’s in referring to the oldest guy in the unit. The nickname for the fifth Commandant of the Marine Corps, Archibald Henderson, who served in the Marine Corps for 54 years. “Improvise, adapt, and overcome” sums it all up. As the smaller service - and with much less funding than the Army - Marines have an attitude of doing more with less. Most Marines will understand the reference.Īn unofficial motto of Marines that means exactly what you think it means. You can also just ask if they have a straw. “Hey dude, SITFU.” That means suck it the f- up. Since this is one of the most important duties of recruits at boot camp, senior Marines will often say boots only have the “fire watch ribbon,” a pejorative for the National Defense Service Medal that everyone gets.Īcronym often used in response to someone complaining. While sentries may well have been looking for fires in the past, Marines pulling fire watch nowadays can be walking around a barracks aimlessly or standing their shift behind the machine-gun in Afghanistan. Especially among post-9/11 era infantry Marines however, you are pretty much a “boot” until you’ve been to combat. The term’s origin apparently comes from Vietnam, as an acronym meaning “beginning of one’s tour.” New Marines joining a unit are usually referred to as “boots” until they go on a deployment or have at least a year or two in the Corps. Photo: Life is like a box of Chocolates BootĪ pejorative term for a new Marine fresh out of boot camp. Instead of “oohrah,” Marines will often just say “yut” when in the presence of motivational speeches and/or talk of blowing things up.Ī play on the Marine Corps motto of “Semper Fidelis (Latin for “Always Faithful”), Semper Gumby for Marines means “Always Flexible.” This phrase is often used when you are told to do one thing, then told a different thing, then told to just stand by, then told to go back to doing the original thing. Your platoon sergeant may ask if everyone understands the plan of the day, to which everyone will respond with “Errrr.” Translation: Yeah Gunny, we got it.Īrguably used more often than “Oohrah” by junior Marines to express enthusiasm. This is an even more shortened-down version of “rah.” But it’s most often used as a lazy-man’s version of agreement. It’s like the Marine version of the mobster’s “fuggaddaboutit.” You could be agreeing with someone, by saying “rah.” You could be excited about going on a mission by exclaiming, “Rah!” Or you could be asking the platoon if everyone understands, “rah?” Short for “Oohrah,” a Marine greeting or expression of enthusiasm similar to the Army’s “Hooah” or the Navy’s “Hooyah.” Rah, however, is a bit more versatile. If you are around Marines long enough, you’ll hear someone being called a “boot” or dozens of them screaming out “yut.” While everyone in the Corps speaks and uses English most of the time, there’s another layer of terminology added on top which is uniquely Marine. She looked at her reflection in the water After reflection I felt I had made the wrong decision The book is called `Reflections of a Politician'.Marines speak a slightly-different language than the rest of the United States.
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