Terms Which Have Disappeared

[Shangas]

"4F" is "Four Front", isn't it? You had to have at least four front teeth to join the infantry, or else you couldn't rip your cartridge to load the musket.

What the heck is "1-A"? I've never heard of that before.

Talking of military/army codes/acronyms, etc., I'm reminded of this one, from the Australian Defense Forces:

"FRED".

Field-Ration-Eating-Device.

Or, due to it's fiddly design, was renamed by soldiers, the F***ing Ridiculous Eating Device.

 

[LizzieMaine]

"4F" is "Four Front", isn't it? You had to have at least four front teeth to join the infantry, or else you couldn't rip your cartridge to load the musket.

What the heck is "1-A"? I've never heard of that before.

Talking of military/army codes/acronyms, etc., I'm reminded of this one, from the Australian Defense Forces:

"FRED".

Field-Ration-Eating-Device.

Or, due to it's fiddly design, was renamed by soldiers, the F***ing Ridiculous Eating Device.

4-F and 1-A were Selective Service classifications -- every man who registered for the draft was assigned into one of these categories.

Any classification starting with "1" meant the man was liable for military service. A 1-A classification meant there was no obstacle to that service, and he was available for immediate conscription.

There was a long list of "1-x" classifications, with the "x" being a series of letters from A to G. These covered various other circumstances, such as a man who was available for conscription but below acceptable physical standards.

"2-X" classifications covered deferrments, most of them being deferrments for having an essential war job.

"3-X" classifications covered family and dependency related deferrments.

"4-X" classifications covered men who were exempted or excused from military service, whether for having already completed their service, for being non-citizens, for being members of the clergy, being physically, mentally, or morally unsuitable, or being conscientious objectors.

During World War I and II, the official classifications were written in Roman numberals -- you said "He's a 4-F," but his draft card said "IV-F" The IV-F classification was very broad -- it covered everyone from men with no teeth and men with missing limbs to drug addicts, sex criminals, and men with severe psychotic issues. A IV-F card was a badge of shame and suspicion on the home front, unless the man carrying it could prove he had a legitimate reason for it.

 

[dh66]

FRED also refers to the "f-ing rear end device", which is the blinking red light on the end of a freight train, which has replaced the caboose these days.

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[dh66]

I listen to a lot of Old Time Radio and I hear words I've never heard before, such as. "I'm taking a constitutional." (going for a walk) or instead of saying "high school yearbook" some said, "high school annual" (this was mostly in the '50s and before). Although on an episode of Father Knows Best from 1959, they did say "yearbook". You never hear or seldom hear someone refer to a couch or sofa as the "davenport." I'm not sure if these were just "radio show" terms or actual ones that people used back then.

-Kristi

I used to work with a guy who said "taking a constitutional" to mean a sit down restroom break.
We also still refered to the yearbook as an annual when I was in hs in the early 80s

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[LizzieMaine]

"Constitutional" is derived from "constitution," meaning your body -- "She has a strong constitution, but too many amendments."

A formal term for going to the toilet was "an errand of nature." Or, if a woman had to go to the facilities and didn't want to say so, you'd say you were "going to see Mrs. Jones."

 

[HudsonHawk]

"Constitutional" is derived from "constitution," meaning your body -- "She has a strong constitution, but too many amendments."

A formal term for going to the toilet was "an errand of nature." Or, if a woman had to go to the facilities and didn't want to say so, you'd say you were "going to see Mrs. Jones."

Oh Lordie...we could have a whole thread just on euphemisms for bodily functions. I'll let someone else start it.

 

[dh66]

"Constitutional" is derived from "constitution," meaning your body -- "She has a strong constitution, but too many amendments."

A formal term for going to the toilet was "an errand of nature." Or, if a woman had to go to the facilities and didn't want to say so, you'd say you were "going to see Mrs. Jones."

As a plumber and construction worker of many, many years I am sorely tempted to take this ball and run with it, but I shall try to maintain some sense of decorum.

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[AtomicEraTom]

That's the world I want to live in.

Rumpus Room.

Does anyone remember those early days of suburbia and station wagons when it was the fashion to remodel your basement with knotty pine paneling into a recreation room or rumpus room?

I do so on a regular basis.

How many years has it been since a man "made a pass" at a woman?

 

[KayEn78]

There are many words/phrases about mother nature calling or otherwise, both crude, vulgar or formal...there was a time when people were polite. Today? Anything goes and it really is disgusting and very rude. It's all over in movies that are labeled as "comedies" even in books now. There's a time and place for everything, but back then, most people remained polite about it. These days...forget it.

 

[Shangas]

4-F and 1-A were Selective Service classifications -- every man who registered for the draft was assigned into one of these categories.

Any classification starting with "1" meant the man was liable for military service. A 1-A classification meant there was no obstacle to that service, and he was available for immediate conscription.

There was a long list of "1-x" classifications, with the "x" being a series of letters from A to G. These covered various other circumstances, such as a man who was available for conscription but below acceptable physical standards.

"2-X" classifications covered deferrments, most of them being deferrments for having an essential war job.

"3-X" classifications covered family and dependency related deferrments.

"4-X" classifications covered men who were exempted or excused from military service, whether for having already completed their service, for being non-citizens, for being members of the clergy, being physically, mentally, or morally unsuitable, or being conscientious objectors.

During World War I and II, the official classifications were written in Roman numberals -- you said "He's a 4-F," but his draft card said "IV-F" The IV-F classification was very broad -- it covered everyone from men with no teeth and men with missing limbs to drug addicts, sex criminals, and men with severe psychotic issues. A IV-F card was a badge of shame and suspicion on the home front, unless the man carrying it could prove he had a legitimate reason for it.

You wouldn't have a website or something, where I could read more about this would you, Lizzie? It all sounds extremely interesting.

And regarding lavatorial episodes, I've heard everything from: "Seeing a Man about a Horse", "A Call of Nature", Using the "Facilities", to much, much cruder ones.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Here's a full summary of U. S. draft classifications from 1917 to 1976. As you'll see, it was a very complicated system, and serving on a draft board wasn't for the faint of heart.

I used to have a copy of the official Selective Service summary of the World War I draft, and what struck me as most interesting were the reasons why draftees were rejected. The two most frequent were (1) malnutrition and (2) illiteracy.

 

[Zombie_61]

I listen to a lot of Old Time Radio and I hear words I've never heard before, such as. "I'm taking a constitutional." (going for a walk) or instead of saying "high school yearbook" some said, "high school annual" (this was mostly in the '50s and before). Although on an episode of Father Knows Best from 1959, they did say "yearbook". You never hear or seldom hear someone refer to a couch or sofa as the "davenport." I'm not sure if these were just "radio show" terms or actual ones that people used back then.

-Kristi

When my wife and I have any discussions about taking our dog for his nightly stroll through the neighborhood, I frequently use the term "constitutional" simply because he gets excited if he hears the word "walk" and pesters us until we take him out. And use of the word "Davenport" instead of "couch" or "sofa" was discussed earlier in this thread, so, yes, these terms were/are actually used in real life.

...Talking of military/army codes/acronyms, etc., I'm reminded of this one, from the Australian Defense Forces:

"FRED".

Field-Ration-Eating-Device.

Or, due to it's fiddly design, was renamed by soldiers, the F***ing Ridiculous Eating Device.

This one has also been modernized as F***ing Ridiculous Electronic Device (i.e. any computer, laptop, I-whatever, cell phone, Kindle, video game console, DVD/Blu-Ray player, etc.) for obvious reasons.

 

[Shangas]

The first time I heard the word "Constitutional" to mean "walk", was in the film "101 Dalmatians", when the couple and their dogs go out for the night.

"Aaaah! There they go! Off on their evenin' Constitutional...'Round the Johnny 'orner...and off...into the park..."

 

[dh66]

The first time I heard the word "Constitutional" to mean "walk", was in the film "101 Dalmatians", when the couple and their dogs go out for the night.

"Aaaah! There they go! Off on their evenin' Constitutional...'Round the Johnny 'orner...and off...into the park..."

And just what exactly do dogs do when they go for a "walk"? Perhaps there is some overlap in meaning .

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[jamespowers]

And just what exactly do dogs do when they go for a "walk"? Perhaps there is some overlap in meaning .

Yeah, especially I my neighborhood. They ought to keep their dogs at their own homes so they can constitutional their own damned yards!

 

[rjb1]

Shangas - Definitely no disrespect intended, but if I didn't already know you were from Australia I could have inferred that you were not from the US by your not knowing what 1-A meant with respect to the draft. Especially if you were in those age brackets (during WWII, Korea, or Vietnam) when we were in a shooting war and your life could depend on that letter code. (I guess it's also possible that you could be from the US and are part of the younger generation who don't have to worry about getting drafted.)
Getting a letter to report to your draft physical during those time periods was the first step, and then you went through that. The you got your draft card in the mail. Getting a 1-A classification was like getting the kiss of death. Although most people didn't actually get sent into combat and not nearly all of those who were in combat were hit or killed, the 1-A classification itself put you in jeopardy of severe injury or death.

I remember seeing a WWII-era cartoon set in fictional Pilgrim times. One of the characters is identified as the "Town Cryer" who is sitting on the sidewalk bawling his eyes out. The voice-over asks why he's crying so much and he just holds up a piece of paper with "1-A" written on it. No one in the audience needed any further explanation.

By the latter part of the Vietnam era there was another level of selection: the draft lottery. Due to some unfair handling of exemptions, and because the country was bigger and the Army was smaller, they didn't actually need all the men classified as 1-A, so a lottery was initiated and those with low numbers - randomly selected - were subject to the draft and those with higher numbers were not.
My life was possibly saved and was certainly changed by having a high number.
During WWII, as Lizzie says, having a 4-F or other exempt status was not considered exactly respectable. I know a WWII veteran who was working in a perfectly honorable Class 2 exempt occupation on the railroad in the US and he said he couldn't take the looks and comments from people, so he gave up the job and exemption in 1943 and joined the Army voluntarily.

 

[KayEn78]

My dad remembers the lottery. In 1971 when turned eighteen, he received his number...247. He told me once that had he received a low number, he would've gone to Vietnam.

My grandpa wanted to join the service during WWII, but his parents wouldn't sign the papers. He was 16 in 1944. When the Korean War came around, he tried to join up but was turned down due to flat feet.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The lottery was part of the 1940 peacetime draft as well -- during 1940-41, men were liable to be called up for a year of military service. The initial lottery drawing was done in October 1940, and was broadcast live. By a remarkable coincidence, the network announcer for this broadcast, Stephen McCormick of Mutual, had his number drawn -- while he was on the air.

 

[Shangas]

Shangas - Definitely no disrespect intended, but if I didn't already know you were from Australia I could have inferred that you were not from the US by your not knowing what 1-A meant with respect to the draft. Especially if you were in those age brackets (during WWII, Korea, or Vietnam) when we were in a shooting war and your life could depend on that letter code. (I guess it's also possible that you could be from the US and are part of the younger generation who don't have to worry about getting drafted.)
Getting a letter to report to your draft physical during those time periods was the first step, and then you went through that. The you got your draft card in the mail. Getting a 1-A classification was like getting the kiss of death. Although most people didn't actually get sent into combat and not nearly all of those who were in combat were hit or killed, the 1-A classification itself put you in jeopardy of severe injury or death.

I remember seeing a WWII-era cartoon set in fictional Pilgrim times. One of the characters is identified as the "Town Cryer" who is sitting on the sidewalk bawling his eyes out. The voice-over asks why he's crying so much and he just holds up a piece of paper with "1-A" written on it. No one in the audience needed any further explanation.

By the latter part of the Vietnam era there was another level of selection: the draft lottery. Due to some unfair handling of exemptions, and because the country was bigger and the Army was smaller, they didn't actually need all the men classified as 1-A, so a lottery was initiated and those with low numbers - randomly selected - were subject to the draft and those with higher numbers were not.
My life was possibly saved and was certainly changed by having a high number.
During WWII, as Lizzie says, having a 4-F or other exempt status was not considered exactly respectable. I know a WWII veteran who was working in a perfectly honorable Class 2 exempt occupation on the railroad in the US and he said he couldn't take the looks and comments from people, so he gave up the job and exemption in 1943 and joined the Army voluntarily.

That is the longest explanation I've ever seen in my life! Wowzers!

Although I really don't understand the necessity for the opening statement:

Shangas - Definitely no disrespect intended, but if I didn't already know you were from Australia I could have inferred that you were not from the US by your not knowing what 1-A meant with respect to the draft.

Thank goodness my eyesight and hearing would keep me off the battlefield.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Although I really don't understand the necessity for the opening statement:

Apparently you should be ashamed of being Australian.