https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=437ExXEvYzc
TRANSCRIPT
Hi, everybody. Welcome back to www.engvid.com. I'm Adam. In today's lesson
we're going to look at some military expressions and slang that are used in
everyday English. So, in many situations, when there is a war and there's
obviously going to be a military all the time, many words that are used by
the soldiers eventually become common in everyday English and are used all
the time. Now, especially if you watch war movies, you're going to hear some
of these words. Actually, you're going to hear a lot of these words, so it's
a good idea to know what they mean. But we also use them in everyday
situations, and I'll explain some of these as we go.
So, first we're going to look at the actual words and expressions. "AWOL",
this means Absent WithOut Leave. Okay? Although... So, I'll explain that in a
second. "MIA" means Missing In Action. Okay? Now, you can "have someone's 6",
"copy/roger", I'll explain these. These, similar. A "dud", "snafu", "alpha,
bravo, charlie, x-ray, yankee, zulu", "Uncle Sam", "collateral damage", "coup
de grace", and "FUBAR" or "soup sandwich".
Okay, let's start with "AWOL". Absent WithOut Leave. So, in the military, if
you leave your base or leave your post without permission... So, "leave"
basically means permission. If you leave... If you go away from your base or
your post and you don't have permission, then you are considered AWOL. If
you're gone long enough, then you will go to jail. Okay? The military... In
the military, you can't leave your post, you can't leave jail. But we use
this in everyday situations. So, I planned an organization, like I'm helping
some people, I'm a volunteer, and I got a group of people to help me, and at
our meeting one person didn't show up. And I say: -"Where's Mike?" -"Ah, he's
AWOL." It means nobody knows where he is. He left, he didn't show up.
Sometimes we call it a "no-show". A "no-show" means the person didn't appear
where he was supposed to be. He didn't come to the meeting, he didn't come
wherever. In an office, somebody is supposed to get all this work done, but
the boss is asking: -"Where's the work? Where is this person who had to do
it?" -"I don't know. He's AWOL. He's gone AWOL." It means he's disappeared.
Okay?
It's not very dissimilar from "missing in action". So, in a war, sometimes
soldiers, they're fighting, everybody's working together, but one soldier,
nobody knows where he is. Maybe he got killed, or maybe he got injured, or
maybe he's making his way back. But right now, I don't know where he is. He
is missing in action, in the middle of the battle. So, it's the same thing in
everyday life. If somebody is MIA, it means he's disappeared. So, it's very
similar to absent without leave, but MIA means he was here but then
disappeared. I don't know where he went. So, we had a meeting and in the
meeting we had a break, and we come back from break and one person didn't
return. -"So, where is he?" -"I don't know. He's MIA." He's missing. He's
gone somewhere. Maybe he'll come back later. Just in case you're wondering:
"killed in action, KIA" is another expression.
Now, to "have someone's 6", you've seen this on police shows or in war movies
all the time. In a clock: 12 is forward, 6 is behind you, 3, 9, all the
numbers of the clock. Okay? So, to "have someone's 6" means to have someone's
back, to watch out for them or to support them, or to make sure that nothing
bad is going to come where they can't see it. Okay? So, 6, behind; 12, ahead.
"Copy" and "roger". When you're talking on a walkie-talkie or on a telephone
these days, however way you communicate, "copy" means message received. So,
your boss or your commander sends you the message: "Copy", means I got it, I
understood. "Roger" if an order comes in: -"I want you to do this." -"Roger."
It means I got the message, and I will do what I've been asked to do. And we
use this in everyday life. On the phone your boss says: -"This is what I
need." -"Copy. Roger. No problem."