The Great War lives on...in our everyday language

Entrenched in intrigue

I'm always fascinated by the way words seep into the English language.

In honor of my Downton Abbey withdrawal and Florence Green (the last World War I veteran who passed away a few weeks ago at 111)  AND because I recently wrapped up a class discussion on the Great War, I thought I'd say something about how WWI introduced some rather evocative--if heartbreaking--language into our vocabulary.  

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fashion from the trenches

In 1914, Burberry was commissioned to create a new type of coat, the trench coat, that would allow British officers to stay both stylish and comfortable during the war  (not sure how that worked out...)

After the war, the coat became extremely popular, made even more so when it made its way to Hollywood.  (Nowadays, the trench coat is so pervasive, I always wonder if anyone thinks twice about its origins.)

Lots of phrases are still  around, too, mostly from the terrible conditions soldiers had to face.  "In a funk" (feeling dejected)  may have referred to the (funky/smelly) holes in the trench walls where soldiers could stand to keep dry."Lousy" referred first to lice infested clothes, later to everything crummy. "Dig oneself in" (stick to one's ground, being stubborn) came from entrenching. To be "Up against the wall" (in a difficult spot) probably came from deserters' placed in front of a firing squad. (All a bit stomach-churning, really).
 
Shell-shock--a kind of obvious one.   And sadly, "basket case," a term for someone who's a bit screwed up,  arose from the practice of transporting severely injured men in baskets.

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Snoopy stayed out of the trenches

Some, of course,  came from the early aviation: "In a tail-spin," "joystick," "nose dive" --all essentially descriptive.  "Hush-Hush" referred to top secret operations. And a "dud"  (a failure) comes from an unexploded mine or shell.

And of course, the very best. Snoopy, the World War I flying "Ace." An excellent pilot, he was the high card to play against the dreaded Red Baron.

(Although, now, when I see Snoopy reenact the prolonged suffering of a lonely airman stationed in France, I find it quite disturbing.)
What other vestiges from the Great War do we still speak and hear daily? You tell me!

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