Soldier Lingo

E = Egyptian Arabic (as heard by New Zealanders)

I = Italian

Ack-ack – anti-aircraft guns/fire.

Ackers – piastres: Egyptian currency.

Aiwa (E) – yes.

Ana maskeen – Egyptian choral chant: ‘I’m hungry and I’ve got no money.’

Babel-el-Louk – Cairo Railway Station: ‘Tough Tactics School’.

Badin (E) – late or later: usually much later.

Baksheesh (E) – tip or backhander.

Base wallah – anyone whose job kept him out of the front line. Also: ‘bludger’.

Bellissima (I) – very beautiful and ‘usually out of bounds’.

Bene (I) – good.

Benghazi boiler – tin, Thermette: for brewing tea. Invented by Aucklander, J.A. Hart, in 1929, in 1939 he waived his patent for manufacture and supply to every unit in the Div.

Bint (E) – woman.

Bludgers’ Hill – combatant soldiers’ name for the admin area in Maadi Camp; also, The Hill.

Boukhra, bukra (E) – tomorrow: and tomorrow and...

Brew-up – for tea; also a burning tank.

Capito (I) – ‘do you understand?’ Alcoholically pronounced, ‘capish’.

Caracol – Field Punishment Centre: ‘Rock College’, ‘Budgie Cage’.

Casa (I) – house.

Chai (E) – tea.

Coconut bomber – former member of 3 New Zealand Division who joined 2 Div in Italy.

Comer/goer – artillery shell: coming towards you (theirs) or going away (ours).

Dekko – take a look, a dekko.

Domani (I) – tomorrow and to...

Dooks – fists.

Dopo (I) – after, also used as soon ... ‘probably never’.

Esma (E) – come here: ‘SOS for waiters’.

Faloose (E) – money.

Fellahin (E) – ‘the peasantry’.

Galeenas, gallina (I) – hens.

Germans – variously known as: Boche, Heinies, The Hun, Herman, Der Herrenvolk, Jerry.

Gharry (E) – horse-drawn carriage: Cairo taxi.

Gingerbeers – the Divisional Engineers or sappers.

Grazie (I) – thank you.

Griff or gen – information: usually unofficial and unreliable.

Grim dig – a veteran soldier who has survived ‘grim’ conditions (Oxford Dictionary of New Zealand English).

Guerra (I) – War: ‘dopo la guerra’, after the war.

Igri (E) – quickly!

Imshi (E) – go away! Get away.

Inshallah – ‘the will of God’ (God willing).

Jankers – official punishment.

Kaloss (E) – broken: ‘buggered’.

Khamseen or Khamsin (E) – a hot dry desert wind; in extremis, a sand blizzard.

Kleftying (E) – stealing: ‘old Egyptian custom’.

Kweis-aue (E) – very good.

Also: ‘very clean, very nice, very hygienic, very special for you, Kiwi’.

Kweis-kattir (E) – as above.

Long Tom – heavy artillery piece.

Magnoon (E) – crazy.

Mafeesh (E) – finished; ‘mafeesh faloose’, stony broke.

Maleesh (E) – it doesn’t matter.

Mangiare (I) – food.

Maskeen (E) – hungry.

Mill – millieme: Egyptian coin.

Value: one eighth of a penny – ‘useful for tips’.

Moaning Minnie – Nebelwerfer: German multi-barrelled rocket launcher, also called ‘Screaming Meemie’ or ‘The Andrews Sisters’.

Multo (I) – many.

Niente (I) – no, nothing or none.

Ovo, ouvo (I) – egg.

Pam Pam – popular Cairo nightclub featuring belly dancers.

Purple death – overproof Italian red wine.

Q-ships – An armed merchant ship with concealed weapons.

Quois (E) – good.

Racehorses – very thin, roll-your-own cigarettes.

Red-arses – recent, not yet suntanned arrivals in the Middle East.

Red caps – British Corps of Military Police: ‘lantern-jawed brutes’, unanimously disliked by New Zealand soldiers.

Rock College – Field Punishment Centre.

Sayeeda (E) – good day: ‘sayeeda George’.

Sharia (E) – street or road. ‘Wahad for the Sharia’: ‘one for the road’.

Shepheard’s – famous Cairo hotel.

Shufti (E) – to take a look.

Shufti kite – observation aeroplane.

Stanna (E) – stop.

Strada (I) – street or road.

Tedeschi, Ted (I) – the Germans.

Tutti (I) – everything.

Two-pipper – a full lieutenant: two pips (stars) on his shoulder epaulettes.

Uno (I) – one.

Up the blue – into the distance: to the zone of hostilities.

V, Vs, Veefers – particularly smelly and objectionable issue cigarettes – but free!

Wadi (E) – dry (usually) desert watercourse.

Wallad (E) – boy.

Wilbur – an American.

WOG – wily oriental (in this case, Egyptian) gentleman.

Yalla (E) – go away!

Zib, zibib – aniseed flavoured liqueur; very strong.