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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/aug/21/guide-to-submarine-slang
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| Trim the festive norman aft: a guide to submarine slang | Trim the festive norman aft: a guide to submarine slang |
| (8 months later) | |
| Perhaps more than any other branch of the British military, the Royal Navy's submarine arm is home to some of the most inventive – not to say obscure – slang. During his week aboard HMS Triumph, Stephen Moss picked up a few of the words most often used by submariners. Here is a selection: | Perhaps more than any other branch of the British military, the Royal Navy's submarine arm is home to some of the most inventive – not to say obscure – slang. During his week aboard HMS Triumph, Stephen Moss picked up a few of the words most often used by submariners. Here is a selection: |
| dit story, tale, film | dit story, tale, film |
| spin a dit tell a story | spin a dit tell a story |
| dripping complaining (usually in a light-hearted way) | dripping complaining (usually in a light-hearted way) |
| manking moaning, dripping | manking moaning, dripping |
| threaders pissed off | threaders pissed off |
| harry threaders very pissed off | harry threaders very pissed off |
| buffs buck up | buffs buck up |
| rack bed | rack bed |
| rack out go to bed | rack out go to bed |
| bagged out asleep | bagged out asleep |
| snorting both diesels snoring | snorting both diesels snoring |
| shake wake-up call | shake wake-up call |
| terror shake menacing wake-up call | terror shake menacing wake-up call |
| scran food (derived from sultanas, currants, raisons, nuts) | scran food (derived from sultanas, currants, raisons, nuts) |
| scran spanners knife and fork | scran spanners knife and fork |
| snorker sausage | snorker sausage |
| fat pill bread roll | fat pill bread roll |
| norman chicken | norman chicken |
| aquatic norman fish | aquatic norman fish |
| festive norman turkey | festive norman turkey |
| Russian norman chicken kiev | Russian norman chicken kiev |
| elephant's footprints, nellie's wellies spam fritters | elephant's footprints, nellie's wellies spam fritters |
| shit on a raft kidneys in gravy on toast | shit on a raft kidneys in gravy on toast |
| yellow peril kippers/smoked haddock | yellow peril kippers/smoked haddock |
| slide butter | slide butter |
| trim pass | trim pass |
| trim the slide aft pass the butter | trim the slide aft pass the butter |
| wet drink (usually tea) | wet drink (usually tea) |
| goof admiring scenery | goof admiring scenery |
| skeg admiring women | skeg admiring women |
| divs attractive woman | divs attractive woman |
| dib-dobs, klebbies, ickies, scruntons generic words for foreign currency | dib-dobs, klebbies, ickies, scruntons generic words for foreign currency |
| oppo friend | oppo friend |
| skimmer, target surface ship | skimmer, target surface ship |
| bobblehead diver | bobblehead diver |
| binbag, back'aftie marine engineer | binbag, back'aftie marine engineer |
| heads toilets | heads toilets |
| garbo garbage ejector | garbo garbage ejector |
| gash rubbish | gash rubbish |
| oxygen thief trainee | oxygen thief trainee |
| sea rider guest on the boat | sea rider guest on the boat |
| dabber warfare officer | dabber warfare officer |
| wrecker mechanic | wrecker mechanic |
| pusser logistics officer | pusser logistics officer |
| bomb shop weapons storage compartment | bomb shop weapons storage compartment |
| harmony time leave | harmony time leave |
| jolly stopover on shore | jolly stopover on shore |
| diddly-dossing pretending to work | diddly-dossing pretending to work |
| fleet move in an orderly fashion | fleet move in an orderly fashion |
| clagg connect | clagg connect |
| gobstick internal telephone | gobstick internal telephone |
| heave action/drill | heave action/drill |
| wibble crazy | wibble crazy |
| go wibble go crazy after too long at sea | go wibble go crazy after too long at sea |
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