Military Jargon: 11 Terms You Should Know, Explained

War brings devastation, death, and suffering. But it also gives rise to slang, likely for two reasons.

Firstly, the close-knit environment of soldiers in combat is a breeding ground for jargon. Slang thrives in these in-groups and can often be baffling to outsiders. And there’s no more tight-knit group than military personnel who share the same frontlines.

Secondly, the trauma of destruction and loss makes war a taboo subject, with death itself often too painful to confront. As a result, military slang frequently includes euphemisms to soften the harsh reality.

Take a look at this selection of military slang—possibly the only creative product emerging from the horrors of war.

Fubar

Fubar refers to anything that is “fouled up beyond all recognition,” and yes, it often serves as a euphemism for the f-word. The term first appeared in *Yank* magazine in 1944, where it was used in a more printable form: 'The FUBAR Squadron... FUBAR? It means ‘Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition.’” Beyond describing something utterly messed up, the term can also be used to describe someone who is “heavily intoxicated.”

Snafu

Another term from the acronym vault, snafu stands for “situation normal: all fucked up.” The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines it as “an expression reflecting the typical soldier’s weary acceptance of the chaos of war and the incompetence of those in charge.” As for why the military leans so heavily on acronyms: it’s about “the need for quick, clear communication” and “making complex ideas easier to express,” according to Military.com.

Army Strawberries

Some military slang focuses on the small, everyday aspects of war rather than the constant threat of danger. One such phrase is *army strawberries*, which is a lighthearted term for something undesirable but harmless: prunes. Green’s Dictionary of Slang traces this term back to at least 1916, and a 1941 article in the *San Francisco Chronicle* proves its longevity: “The draftees stationed at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, compiled a glossary of slang to describe the daily aspects of army life [...] The Louisiana recruits dubbed prunes ‘army strawberries’ [...].”

Gremlin

The OED defines this term, which originated in Royal Air Force (R.A.F.) slang, as “A lowly or despised person; a menial, a dogsbody, a wretch.” This sense appears in a 1929 *Aeroplane* article: “There is a class abhorred, Loathed by all the high and mighty, Slaves who work and get but little, Little thanks for all their labour; Yet they are both skilled and many, Many men with many talents ... They are but a herd of gremlins, Gremlins who do all the flying, Gremlins who do much instructing, Work shunned by the Wing Commanders.” From here, the term expanded to mean “a mischievous sprite imagined as the cause of mishaps to aircraft” and later, “an unexplained problem or fault.” So, if something goes wrong and you can't figure out why, you can always blame a gremlin. The term rose beyond military slang with Roald Dahl's 1943 book *The Gremlins* and the 1984 movie *Gremlins*.

Organize

This version of *organize* has less to do with managing tasks and more with outright stealing. The term emerged during World War II, with its first recorded use in a 1941 *New Statesman* issue: “Organise, to acquire illicitly. (A new R.A.F. equivalent for the last-war word ‘win,’ meaning to ‘scrounge’).” In Henriette Roosenburg's 1957 memoir *The Walls Came Tumbling Down*, she recounts a tale about breakfast meat: “Those Frenchwomen ... were busy organizing some sausages from a reluctant butcher.”

Shower

The OED defines this British sense of *shower*, which began as military slang before being adopted in broader contexts, as “A worthless or contemptible group or crowd of people.” The term first appeared in a 1936 *Journal of Education* article, describing in harsh terms, “a shower of half-sexed, unlicked, undisciplined, wilting pansies.” *Shower* can also refer to a single person, often a fool, as illustrated by the OED: “(In the Army) A detachment or individual whose ways are slack and whose turn-out is slovenly. (In the R.A.F.) ‘What a shower’ is the derisive comment aimed at someone who has just made a blunder.”

REMF and Fobbit

Another term from Vietnam, *REMF* refers to soldiers who provide support but aren't directly involved in combat: it stands for “rear-echelon motherfucker.” Understandably, those on the front lines tend to resent the REMFs, as reflected in the first recorded use of the term in a 1971 *Newsweek* article: “‘Those REMF’s don’t even know what Vietnam is all about,’ sneered one grunt.” A similar term emerged during the Iraq war: *fobbit*, a play on *hobbit*, referring to someone stationed at a forward operating base (FOB) and thus kept out of harm’s way.

Flak

The term *flak* was originally used to describe a barrage of anti-aircraft fire or the guns that launched it. It is thought to be a shortened version of the German word *Fliegerabwehrkanone*, meaning “pilot warding-off cannon,” which dates back to the late 1930s. A 1940 *Times Weekly* article mentioned “Heavy and accurate anti-aircraft fire from the flak ships.” By the 1960s, the word evolved from referring to literal firepower to representing verbal attacks. A 1968 *New York Times* article cited less deadly “flak” between public figures: “In spite of the current flak between Mayor Lindsay and … the … administrator of Boston and New Haven … the potential for the city is unlimited.”

Flak-happy and Shellshock

The term *flak-happy* emerged from *flak*, meaning “mentally affected by flak,” as defined by the OED. Soldiers in World War I would have referred to this mental state as “shellshock,” a term that George Carlin later pointed out felt more raw than today’s diagnosis of *post-traumatic stress disorder* (PTSD).