Customer Reviews

FUBAR F---ed Up Beyond All Recognition: Soldier Slang of World War II (General Military)

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I own several different dictionaries of military slang, and this is far and away the best. Rottman did his homework. In addition to library research, he worked with online discussion groups including WW II vets to understand the precise meaning (or meanings) of expressions. He also has a way with words himself -- it's not easy to get ideas across in brief dictionary entries, but Rottman does it. The entries are always informative, often full of personality, and sometimes funny -- never pedantic. It's also obvious that helping to recreate and preserve the culture of WW II soldiers is something Rottman really cares about.

Before I peeked at his Amazon listing, I was pretty sure that this wasn't Rottman's first book on the war. The depth of his knowledge really shines through. I had more than a few "Wow, I didn't know that!" moments while reading. For example: "Zombies." These were Canadian soldiers who declined to volunteer for overseas deployment. Apparently if you didn't volunteer, Canada would not send you. Didn't know that.

Reading this book is like eating a really well-prepared meal -- it's full of little surprises and pleasures. Highly recommended. If you have a serious interest in WW II, this should be in your collection.

Now I've seen military slang dictionaries before, but this one is different in several ways. It covers World War II army and marine slang, not just of the United States, but the British Commonwealth with a heavy dose of often humorous or rather cheeky Australian slang, and, something seldom attempted, Landserspeak, the slang of the German soldier. As a bonus there is something else one seldom sees, Japanese and Russian soldier's slang. There is something else about this book though. It does not just give a cut and dried definition of the word, but often its origins, the nuances of its meaning, and examples of its use if it's not apparent. This work provides a window into the mind of the World War II soldier. One sees a commonality among them regardless of the uniform they wore and the ideology they fought for. There is a certain dark humor in the face of adversity that helped carry them through their trails. One can see the cynicism dripped off their words. Regardless of the army, they all had slang words to describe the food they ate, abbreviated terms or nicknames for their weapons and equipment, often unflattering terms for their leaders, rather cavalier words with a double meaning in regards to the opposite sex and its pursuit, items of uniform, the holes and other places they called home, the regard they had for rear service troops, and the trails of their daily lives. Just flipping through the pages and reading entries at random are a joy in and of itself.

My grandfather served in WorldWar II, but he would never talk about it. After seeing this book in an advertisement, I decided to pick it up because I've always been curious about what it was like to be in that terrible war. I really liked reading through FUBAR because it gave me a quick snapshot into what my grandfather and so many other went through.

This is a surprisingly thorough, highly enjoyable and very informative book about the slang used by troops in World War Two. It focuses primarily on the slang used by American soldiers and marines, by the Commonwealth forces (British, Australians, New Zealand, Canadians), and by Germans. There are brief appendice-chapters for Japanese and Russian lingo, and additional appendices for vehicle nicknames and what Germany's many enemies called them. The argot of the combatants is very similar in its cynical, humorous nature, and revolves mainly around weapons, vehicles, women, food, personality types, and the like, demonstrating that fighting men generally have more in common with each other than the politicos and generals who send them into battle.

All wars give birth to reams of slang expressions, and a war that lasts as long as the Second World War did, and has as many combatants, was bound to produce a few million truckloads. Most quickly fall into disuse when the guns stop speaking, but a few survive in some form or other long after their origins are forgotten. FUBAR itself is one such expression, frequently used today by college students to describe how badly drunk they were the night before ("I was f'd up beyond all recognition.") Thus, it's an appropriate title for this work, which doesn't shy away from some eye-poppingly vulgar terms, most of which I can't print here. But among my favorites are "*********r bread" (French bread), "gazoonie" (idiot), "belly cousins" (soldiers who slept with the same woman), "Get your finger out!" (get busy and quit loafing), "scum-burner" (cook), "quisling" (traitor), "Heimatschuss" (literally, "homeland shot" - similar to the American "million dollar wound"), "Etappenschweine" ("rear-echelon pig"), "Frozen Meat Medal" (name for medal given to German troops who survived the first Russian winter), "Soft Pear" (idiot), "shamohin" (Japanese soldiers' nickname for themselves, meaning "expendable"), and "The Boss' (for Joseph Stalin). But really, there are dozens of classic expressions here, and while they have great entertainment value, they are also very valuable as research materials.

In addition to the dictionaries, there are brief introductions before each chapters, small inserts here and there which go deeply into the history of certain terms, as well as humorous illustrations and sketches. And while it's not easy to sit down and read a dictionary cover to cover, it is fun to attack in installments. So if the subject of "slanguage" interests you, or if you're a WW2 buff, FUBAR is for you.

This military slang dictionary differs from others that I have encountered in that it includes numerous entries from foreign forces. That's a plus. It demonstrates how much we're all alike in so many unsuspected ways!

A war like the Second World War is a kind of pressure cooker for language. Words like FUBAR and SNAFU spring out of the terrible circumstances that soldiers in battle find themselves. This is probably the most poingant dictionary you'll ever read. If you watched Ken Burns' The War, then you must read this book.

My wife loves the lighter side of history and has recently gotten into military history; for her this was the perfect gift and is a great conversation starter.

Soldier slang of World War II as colorful and could range from insults to witty sayings: any collection strong in World War II history thus needs FUBAR: SOLDIER SLANG OF WORLD WAR II, a dictionary defining World War II slang from all armed forces sides. From conscripted 'koala' Australian soldiers to identifying a 'Chinese attack', this is loaded with phrases and insights.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This book Fubar F---ed Up Beyond Recognition: Soldier Slang of WWII.
It's excellent book for the reader and writer because to make sense for this period of the time in WWII.
I recommend for the writer to use this book. Enjoy it.

This is a long list of acronyms, some of which accurately reflect cultural values of the 1940s.