Just how depraved can Australian Defence Force (ADF) officer training get?

 

Well, this depraved:

This debased slang dictionary of 32-pages comes from officer cadets at ADFA in 1987, Canberra’s newly formed so-called ‘Australian Defence Force Academy’ just the year prior in 1986.

The slang (‘lingo‘) was inherited from old Duntroon senior cadets’ subculture. Duntroon is adjacent to ADFA literally ‘over the hill’ in the same insular Canberra.  So although this lingo is used by ADFA cadets, it has transitioned from the old Duntroon pre the Army’s January 1986 intake to ADFA and back to the new Duntroon.  The senior cadet subculture of abusive old Duntroon (1911-1985), 1986 ADFA, and new/current RMC-D Duntroon are all one in the same sick.

Actually, the origins of this ADF cultural lingo harks from old Duntroon cadet class subculture from the archaic century-old institutional training culture of Duntroon old boys [1911-1986].   In 1986 Duntroon cadets had been forced by Canberra Brass to relocate from there traditional Army officer college training at old established RMC Duntroon (since 1911) to some fancy new ‘ADFA’ academy, situated on the other side of the same hill from Duntroon – literally walking distance.

The old Duntroon cadets clearly were not impressed.  So, out of spite with due subterfuge, they brought their old Duntroon culture with them to inflict ADFA to dominate and indoctrinate upon unsuspecting young bright-eyed and willing innocent new recruits from Civvy land.  Old boys keeping the new young boys in their lowest hierarchical station as junior cadets:  in barracks – no rules, ADFA Brass (ex-Duntrooners) turned a blind eye, “just like yesterday”…”meet the new boss, same as the old boss”…

Legolingo was compiled by one senior staff cadet at the time, Bill Cowham, who went on to go back to RMC Duntroon and graduate as an Army Second Lieutenant from RMC Duntroon in June 1989  [Staff Cadet Cowham, W.A.  CSC 4808].

[SOURCE:  ‘Duntroon: The Royal Military College of Australia 1911-2001, by Darren Moore (former staff cadet), 2001, published by the Royal Military College of Australia, Appendix 10: Full Time General Service Officer Nomination Roll 1911-2001, p.473]  NOTE: ‘CSC’ is an Army abbreviation for Corps of Staff Cadets (at RMC Duntroon).

The senior cadets were clearly taking the piss clandestine against the Brass’s poor decision to change a ‘perfectly happy’ Army officer training bastardisation weeding out regime that had been working ‘fine’ for senior cadets of their targeted junior cadets since 1911… in the senior cadets’ opinion (and quietly condoned by the Duntroon Brass).

 

So the uprooted Duntroon cadets, forced over the hill to ADFA for a year or so, only brought along their Duntroon Bastardisation subculture. Duntroon rolling Brass subculture consistently turned a blind eye to the abuse, again and again.  Women are mad to join!  Why?  Read on…

“What happens in block barracks, Stays in block barracks!“

‘Lego Lingo’ emerged as intern cadet slang at ADFA soon after the academy was open as a Canberran tri-service (Army, Navy, Air Force) military university commencing from its first intake in January 1986.  ADFA transferred cadets from old Duntroon ridiculed it as …’Legoland‘.

ADFA was perceived by Duntroon senior cadets as akin to being a junior boarding school environment for young civvy innocent teens with NFI, though being so keen to have ‘signed up’ to begin a military career in the Defence Force that they would do anything to graduate.

But with the transferred seniors prepped in acculturated gun emplacements, the innocent young suckers into ADFA were about to cop a wake up call to prove themselves worthy of joining the military by senior cadet dispatched indoctrination and bullying, culturally termed ‘bastardisation’.   ADFA was the kindergarten of pre-shock/horror direct leap frog to Year 12 Duntroon, blessed with its immediate asylum minions (in barracks Senior Cadets).

Such was and is the Army training culture at Duntroon that Army Trooper Julian Knight that same year in the January 1987 intake naiively walked into, unknowingly.

We make this Legolingo dictionary of ADFA cadet subculture freely available to the Australian general public to download/print, mindful that those elite members of our society who get specially selected into ADFA and Duntroon as junior cadets (typically aged 18-23) are immediately forced to tolerate this abusive culture delegated by the Brass (former graduates) to senior cadets from Day 1:

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(Editor:  We reserve our post-Duntroon training experience liberty to polish up this dictionary a tad and to add a few informed critiques, since the author from 1987 has clearly given up – resigned, moved on, got married (without telling her about all this shite, and so found maybe a real life.  We say good on Staff Cadet Cowham for your post-Duntroon initiative.  Any officer cadet initiative must have been mandatorily POST-Duntroon).

Want the details of Legolingo?

 

We reproduce it here.

LEGOLINGO

The Cadets’ Language

Compiled by 

Bill COWHAM

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PREFACE

This work attempts to put-down on paper the peculiar slang us by cadets at the Australian Defence Force Academy.  In no way can it be reckoned a definitive work, since the slang vocabulary of cadets is continually changing.  I have tried to put in all the words that are in use at present, whether they are common or not.

No apology whatsoever is made for profanity, for bias, or for sexist definitions; these are the words used by cadets, and to censor them would be to destroy the unique language that is Legolingo.

In the definitions, if a word is written in capitals, this means that it is defined somewhere else in the dictionary.  Where possible, I have tried to give an example of the word’s usage in a phrase so that the reader will get a better idea of the overall language of cadets.

 

BILL COWHAM

 

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INTRODUCTION

It was actually before the threat of closing time at the Wellington Rugby Oub startled us into stocking up the table with fifteen schooners that Bill Cowham, very competently, sang a traditional Duntroon song about a girl who wore a yellow ribbon and a ‘cordie‘ who was far, far away.  After the schooners Bill might not have got the tune so precisely ‘nor pronounced the words so clearly;  and I would probably not have remembered it, much less appreciated the significance of what was hearing with such enjoyment.  I realised that the song was only one expression of what must be a whole cadet folk subculture, developed over years of collective life and in relative independence from the wider society.  What other riches might cordie culture have to offer?

At some stage later, when the hangovers had cleared, I told Bill that I thought the recording of Duntroon/ADFA folk culture-slang, stories, traditions, customs etc. – was a matter of urgent national importance, more important even than Chemistry.  With the integration of the three services, the culture which Bill had experienced as a Fourthie at Duntroon would change rapidly, and much would probably be lost for ever.  So male-centred a culture would be further transformed by the presence of female cadets at ADFA.  There was no time to lose if a significant part of Australia’s cultural heritage was to be saved for posterity.

Bill did not need much urging. Before I knew where I was he showed me the first draft of a dictionary of ADFA slang, then called Cordiespeak, and this became the basis of the present  publication.  It must be emphasised that Legolingo is a compilation of current slang: the cadets’ language is constantly changing, and many expressions do not seem to last for more than a few years.  No attempt has been made to record older, obsolete or superseded usages.  Bruce Moore, of the English Department, is working on a large-scale scholarly project in this direction, and the results of this research should be available within the next few months.

Any language is a verbal expression of the society which uses it; jargon is the specialised language of sub-cultures; but slang is hard to pin down precisely.  The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as “language of a highly colloquial type, considered as below the level of standard educated speech, and consisting either of new words or of current words employed in some special sense”.  Slang is like a strident whispering among the grass roots of sub-cultures, the sharp, economical, racy truth about life as lived by those at the base of power structures.  To study such uses is to learn of both language and the culture which has produced it.  To record such uses is to tread the path of some great names in the lexicography of demotic speech, notably the great New Zealand-Australian scholar, Eric Partridge (1894-1979).  Before him there were such works as W. H.  Downing’s Digger Dialects (1919), and afterwards there was Sydney Baker’s chapter on service slang in his The Australian Language (1945).  Today there is the forthcoming  Australian National Dictionary.

Eric Partridge, compiler of the most amusing dictionaries since Dr Johnson, has written that there were two principal influences which made him become a lexicographer (a person who compiles dictionaries).  The first was his move from New Zealand to Australia when he was a boy; the second was his experience as a soldier in the Great War.  The family migration taught him  that language reflected, and was the product of, a way of life:

 

“New Zealand and Australia are ‘poles apart’ in physical composition and nature; in fauna and flora; in climate; ethnically, in respect of their native peoples; and in the very character of their white populations. with their fundamentally different history of settlement and early growth and with the tremendous influence of environments differing so sharply.  Not least of the differences was that in speech; a difference of accent and tempo, of intonation and enunciation.  The difference in vocabulary was perhaps even greater:· new.names to learn for the beasts and the reptiles, the birds and the fishes; for the trees and shrubs and grasses; for the soils and the winds; for customs and occupations; and, in short, a new way of life.”

As a private in the Australian Imperial Force, Partridge learned far more about Australian English than he would have done even in outback Queensland, and he picked up, in particular, “a not inconsiderable stock of slangy and colloquial and other unconventional words and phrases and senses and idioms“.

His experience of military life showed him that language had “its collective as well as its individual aspects, its deviations as well as its usage and usages; that it springs not from books but from life, not from pundits but from the people“.

Life in the Army, Navy and Air Force generates a slang so rich as to bear comparison with that produced by traditional working class communities.  As Baker put it, “few vulgates have left a more emphatic impression upon our language than the Australian soldier“; and as Partridge wrote in the Introduction to his Dictionary of Forces Slang:

“The corporate life favours the growth of slang, not only in the great Barracks of Army, Navy and Air Force, but in the separate units. …
Among members of a Seivice there is a kind of freemasonry, which expresses itself in many ways; not least in a speech of their own. …

In the Services … the men live … a fuller, more exciting life. They wear different clothes, deal with new equipment, handle many sorts of weapons, and even drill has its humour,  hence its special vocabulary; they do many things they’ve never done before and swear, almost too vehemently, they wish never to do again; … they find that danger sharpens their wits and therefore their vocabulary; all of them experience such a companionship as they never enjoyed before they enlisted ….

Such conditions of life, such activities, such stirring adventures lead inevitably to a rejuvenation, a refreshment, a tonic bracing of language.
They lead also to vividness and vigour and picturesqueness. Servicemen’s language becomes youthful, energetic, venturesome–and often quite delightful. …Those who speak vividly and vigorously, pluckily and pertinently, do not stop at slang: they enrich and vivify the standard language itself.”

As an older authority remarked,  “Any sudden excitement or peculiar circumstance is quite sufficient to originate and set going a score of slang words“.  There are plenty of  those around ADFA.

Reading through Legolingo , my impression of cordie slang is similar to Partridge’s comments on the slang of the Royal Air Force:

“RAF slang is virile and vigorous, graphic and picturesque, irreverent … yet not irresponsible, often humorous, occasionally witty; “packing a punch”, yet usually good-natured . … Youthful, it is sometimes imitative and sometimes almost truculently original and independent.”

I am struck by the inventive genius in some expressions; the convoluted derivation of others; and the mixture of service tradition with the worldly wise language of contemporary youth culture. More striking still is the newness of so many words.  In the second edition of The Australian Language (1966), Baker gives some examples of Duntroon cadets.’ slang, taken from a newspaper account. With mash meaning to study excessively; stook a cigarette; and surl to show a bad temper, it is clear that usages change very quickly.  Among his examples, only toe is still in use with the same meaning.  Bumph, of course, is an old British Army word which goes back, through the public schools (where it was short for bum fodder, or toilet paper), to Thomas Urquhart, the seventeenth century translator of Rabelais.   Interestingly enough, Baker gives on the back as a Word War 2 Australian Army expression meaning “on the bed”, and backta as a Duntroon word meaning “illegal sleep after reveille“.  Could this be the derivation, by means of a sound shift, for rack ?

For all Partridge’s sympathy and diligence, his published work suffered from a problem we do not face in such chronic form today: prudery. He had to omit rude words and expressions from the respectable pages of his dictionaries of forces slang, with the result that much of the colour and earthiness of service life got left out. Young men between the ages of 17 and 21 (and not only them!) think a lot about sex, so it is hardly surprising that the single largest category of words in this dictionary is to do with sexual activity (or the lack of it). Here, as elsewhere, language reflects the conditions of the cadets’ life.  Nor should it come as a shock that many such expressions, reflecting a male dominated community, should fall into a class which might be denounced as male chauvinist or sexist.  Quite correctly, Bill makes no apology for the inclusion of such words. They are an integral part of current Legoland culture, and to censor them out would be to give a “cleaned-up” and thus distorted picture.  The language recorded here represents a male view of women; in the future, as their number increases, it is likely that the female cadets will evolve a vocabulary which expresses their view of men.  We are fortunate to live in an age where frankness has routed prudery and pretence; nobody should take offence at attempts to describe the way things are.

I found this dictionary a witty and entertaining read.  I am amazed by the inventiveness it evidences in the students of ADFA, and I am impressed with Bill Cowham’s efforts to record their culture. I hope this little booklet gives you as much pleasure and instruction as it has given me.

ROBERT DARBY
English Department
November 1987

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The ADFA Lego Lingo Dictionary of 1987…

A

ABC  The ABC of pool or snooker is ARSE beats class.

ABORTION  One who has no value whatsoever to life – a LOSER.  Hence the expression”Gammy Abortion”.  Sometimes just shortened to “Bortion“.

ABO   See ABOSHIT.

ABOSHIT    If something does not meet approval, it is often ABOSHIT – that is it stuffs you around, wastes your time, is badly organised, or is just generally not wanted. “0600 roll call is “ABOSHIT“.   Sometimes shortened to ABO, when it is usually used as a brief comment:  “What do you think of 0600 roll call?”      “It’s abo.”

ACCA

1. In the noun sense, acca generally refers to the university staff – the academics.
2. If one has a lot of work to do, one has “heaps of accas”.

ACCATRON   

“That bloke works a lot.”
“Yeah, he’s a real accatron“.

AEROBAR

1. A “dumb blonde” – any female with more looks than sense.  Also called AIRHEAD.  (Editor:  There is no male equivalent because ADFA and Duntroon are  dominated by young males aged 18-24).
2. An aeronautical engineer.

AIRHEAD    [See AEROBAR]  This word describes the “dumb blonde” perfectly – their heads are full of nothing but air.  (Editor:  There is no male equivalent because ADFA and Duntroon are  dominated by young males aged 18-24).

ALLNIGHTER   When work is left to the last minute (as always!), often an allnighter is required.  Essential requirements for the ALLNIGHTER are 2,000 words plus or equivalent, heaps of coffee and No Doze, and many visits to your mate to see how he’s getting on.

ANIMAL BREW   A brew that contains anything and everything, from differing forms of alcohol through to any type of edible or inedible food.  Everything is mixed together and you are either thrown into it on your birthday, or forced to drink it as a punishment at a MORALS TRIAL.   (Editor:  A punch drink prepared out of sight by senior cadets for junior cadets – trust them?)

APESHIT    See ABOSHIT, but this word is never shortened to “ape”.

APPLE GIRL    Usually a Canberra girl who is a bit of a BONK.  She goes down to the Corps (pronounced “core“), or is good to the Corps.  (Editor:  There is no male equivalent because ADFA and Duntroon are  dominated by young males aged 18-24).

ARSE    Used in reference to luck.  “That shot was pure arse’, or “You really pulled that shot out of your arse.’   Hence the ABC of pool.

ARTIST   Those cadets who ticked the right box at enrolment and so have few periods on, get BULK FARTER and have mastered the art of the 2,000 word ALLNIGHTER.

ASAP   Pronounced as one word meaning ‘As Soon As Possible’.  “Make sure you pay those bills ASAP,or she’ll come round looking for you.”

ATROCITY    If you have sex with a DENTHOR ARGABAG, you have performed an atrocity that will undoubtedly get punished at a MORALS TRIAL.  (Editor:  There is no male equivalent because ADFA and Duntroon are  dominated by young males aged 18-24).

AWESOME    Huge, Mega, excellent.

B

BACON DANCE   Someone who is doing a bacon dance is going through the last stages of a painful death like that got from nerve gas.  The idea can be got from watching a pig die after its throat has been cut.  (Akin to dead cat bounce)

BAG

1. Someone who dresses untidily.  “That bloke is a real bag on parade”.
2. A female.  (Editor:  There is no male equivalent because ADFA and Duntroon are  dominated by young males aged 18-24).

BASH   Used in reference to hats or berets.   To bash means to wet the hat and pull the sides down to make it look better.   A beret is bashed by wetting it and moulding it to your head.

BASTARDISATION    The boys having fun.  Nothing whatsoever as harrowing as the Press make out.  Simply Character Building.  (Editor:  There is no female equivalent because ADFA and Duntroon are  dominated by young males aged 18-24).

BEAM   To strip someone and then dump them far away and let them come back however they can.  A punishment usually reserved for JACK LOSERS.

BEARDED CLAM   Strictly a vagina, however used loosely with reference to women: “Behold, the bearded clam approaches”. (Editor:  There is no male equivalent because ADFA and Duntroon are dominated by young males aged 18-24).

BEEWAH    “Let’s go to the bar and sink a few beewahs.” Beer.

BICKIES    Biscuits.   Also called TOC rocks.   A vital part of TOC  (Duntroon speak: ‘Tea Or Coffee’).

BIN    The ultimate in sleazy dives, the ‘Private Bin’ (a RMC staff cadet preferred nightclub located in the inner Canberran suburb of Civic during the post-Vietnam War 1970s and 80s) holds the same attraction to CORDIES…as Mecca does to Muslims.

BIN MUSIC    The faggot dance music where the words are repeated over and over.  Played, not surprisingly, at the BIN, usually upstairs, which gives the mind the chance to SWITCH OFF so the sleaze work can begin.

BIN RAT    One who is seen so often at the BIN that they are often mistaken for furniture.   Can be either a CORDIE or a Canberra girl.

BISH    Originally short for Rubbish.  To BISH someone’s room (invariably a targeted junior cadet) is to make a complete mess of his room.  A standard BISH is to throw everything into the middle of the room and throw in a SHAVING CREAM BOMB.   However, this is not the only type of  BISH – the scope is only limited by your imagination.

BISH BIN    Your own rubbish bin.  These are personalised, kept from year to year, and are highly prized.  Woe betide the FOURTHY (post-1986 a 3rd year cadet) who lets his third year’s bish bin old Duntroon seniors) get lost while it’s waiting to be emptied in the morning. (Editor: This is pathetic archaic classism at it’s worst, and imposed in Australia???).

BITE THE PILLOW    An expression used to a BONK when you want her to go ‘LANA‘.   [Editor:  LANA means ‘ANAL‘ spelled backwards – ADF training institutions like Duntroon and the Navy’s HMAS Leeuwin saw controlling senior cadets inflicting homosexual acts upon recruit freshmen – so go figure!]

BLOCKRAT   One who never goes out on weekends.

BLOWRAG   The third year underground magazine that offers as its prime aim the chance to STAB (backstab) anyone, particularly the PUTSCH.  Usually funny and invariably filthy, it is produced whenever the editors get interested.

BOG   Anything domesticated dealing with cleaning, polishing or ironing is known as bogging.

BOGAN    A  Westie-one who wears tight jeans, flannel shirts, ugg boots, smokes Winfield Reds or drives a car with a huge engine and a very loud exhaust.  BOGANS are not usually popular and tend to inhabit Queanbeyan.   [Editor: Queanbeyan is a nearby civilian suburban town in New South Wales, adjacent to Canberra in the ACT.  Want to fact check?  Check Queanbeyan on Google Maps.]

BOGGED ON    “That cadet there is always immaculately turned out with very high standards of uniform.”  “Yeah, he’s a BOGGED ON digger all right.”

BOGGER    One who is always BOGGING, whether he be a cadet or a cleaner.

BONER   An erection. Also used in reference to something that’s TAG VALUE.  “I got a BONER over that drill movement.”

BONK    As a verb – to have sex.  As a noun it refers to a loose woman who will probably have to be buried in a Y-shaped coffin.  (Editor:  There is no male equivalent because ADFA and Duntroon are dominated by young males aged 18-24).

BOT    To borrow.  “Can I bot a DURRY?”

BOUNCY-BOUNCY    To have sex.  “Would you like to go up to my room for some bouncy-bouncy?”

BOZ    Usually used in conjunction with the word “drill”.   A drill BOZ is someone who can’t tell his left from his right and is generally an ABORTION.

BREW   An all-important part of life –  usually a cup of coffee, however tea-brews or Milo-brews are often used.   The STANDARD NATO brew is ‘white with two sugars‘.

BREW MUG    The mug you drink your BREWS out of. The legend is that the first thing you buy when you arrive is your brew mug. If you break the handle off it, you will have to repeat a year, and if you break the body of it, you will not graduate. Thus brew mugs are highly treasured items.

BROWN BALL    Used with reference to pool or snooker.   Refers to a shot that was pulled out of your ARSE – hence the colour of the ball.  “He closed his eyes, went for THE OLD..OPTION – six pocket option and pulled off the best BROWN BALL shot I’ve ever seen.”

BULK    Lots of. “I’m going to get bulk FARTER today.”

BUMPH

1. The general routine paperwork.
2. To punish someone – a drill BOZ normally gets BUMPHED by a DRILLIE.

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C

CAPTAIN CASIO    One of the most important bits of kit in the FID (field exercise).  When it’s your gun picquet (enemy watch in the field) at 3am, you stand in the gun pit, set your Casio watch; go to sleep and let CAPTAIN CASIO look out for the enemy till his alarm wakes you at the end of your picquet.

CHAP A RAAFIE    From the Battle of Britain days where chaps used to take on the jolly old Hun in the sun.   A RAAFIE is a ADFA cadet studying to join the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

CHARGE   A formal punishment whereby the offender is trialed in front of a senior officer, usually his OC (Officer in Command).  The charge is supposed to be for serious offences, and almost invariably the offender is found guilty.  The PUTSCH (officers) reason that he wouldn’t have been charged unless he had done something wrong.

CHECKIE   A punishment for less serious offences, the CHECKIE involves the offender reporting to the duty NCO at specified times during the evening to show that he is still within the confines of the Academy.  CHECKIES are a real DICK AROUND.

CLACK   The sound the firing device on a Claymore mine (M57) makes.  A clack is an Asian person because Claymores were used best in Vietnam.  On seeing an Asian the cry “One-M57-hand-held-pulse-generating-firing-device­ CLACK!” means that the CORDIE is a racist.

COMM   The Commandant.

CORDIE   A cadet.  There are two theories as to the origin.  The first is that the name came from a cartoon strip in the 1950s about ‘Keordies’ who were fascist bully boys.  The second is that it came from the days when minimum standard of dress in town was corduroy trousers.

CPA   The Commandant’s Personal Assistant-three second years from each service and representing each degree stream who advise the COMM on what’s going on in the Corps (of RMC Staff Cadets).  The job is given to the biggest HOSERS (brown nosers) and should stand for Commandant’ s Personal Arselicker.

D

DAFF   To have sex with. “You daffed her yet?”  (Editor:  There is no male equivalent because ADFA and Duntroon are  dominated by young males aged 18-24).

DARK    To be annoyed or angry. “When he finds out that you broke his BREW MUG, he’ll be pretty DARK about it.”

DAYBOY   A cadet who habitually spends the night away from the Academy, usually at his girlfriend’s place.  (Editor:  There is no female equivalent because ADFA and Duntroon are  dominated by young males aged 18-24).

DEAD ANT   To do a DEAD ANT is to lie on your back and wave your legs and arms wildly in the air, in imitation of a spastic ant going through the last stages of death.  Used as shock value at parties; for a good performance see the movie “Animal House”.

DEMILITARISED ZONE    The area around the blocks (cadet barracks/sleeping quarters) and (at ADFA) between the library and Geography building.  You won’t get DRILLIE AMBUSH here, so they can’t BUMPH you for not marching properly.   Upon entering the DEMILITARISED ZONE, the arms go from swinging shoulder high to at best belt high (or hands in pockets for risk takers), and you actually get to talk and act almost human.    The DEMILITARISED ZONE is the only thing that saves CORDIES‘ sanity on the way to ACCAS.

DENTHOR ARGABAG   Not a very common term, but it describes the absolute worst type of woman (‘!) able to be picked up at the BIN (notorious nightclub in nearby Civic in Canberra frequented by cadets.   There is a sliding scale of ugly women, and DENTHOR ARGABAG is definitely at the bottom.  (Editor:  There is no male equivalent because ADFA and Duntroon are  dominated by young males aged 18-24).

DEPRESSURISATION    The worst type of room BISH.  Picture the effects of a pressurised can being punctured.  Normally the room ends up spread over the ground outside the window.

DICK AROUND   Something designed purely to waste time.  Most of the military program is nothing but a dick around.   CHECKIES are a dick around, 0600 roll call is a dick around, etc.  From this is got the expression that something dicks the boys around.

DIDDLEY  A nice term for the female cadets.  Derived to take the sting out of the word SQUID.

DIDDLEY BOP    To wander.   “Let’s diddley bop down and see the DO.”

DIRTBAG   The type of woman to whom the expression BONK was derived.  Sometimes pig ugly, but not necessarily so, a dirtbag is usually seen at the BIN for a short time at the beginning of a night.  She is usually the first person picked up.  (Editor:  There is no male equivalent because ADFA and Duntroon are dominated by young male cadets aged 18-24).

D’MATE   A bastardisation of the title DMET.  In 1986, the DMET was so friendly with the first years and so antagonistic towards second and third years that he was christened the first year’s mate.  Thus his title became DMATE.   (Editor:  ???)

DOONA   The most important bit of kit that a cadet can own.  There is nothing that beats coming back from a heavy session with the ACCAS and jumping under your DOONA.  The ultimate way to get even with someone is to steal their doona-but be warned, that is a declaration of war.   DOONAS have an amazingly strong homing signal, and CORDIES hear their DOONA calling for them from miles away.  To obey this call has often been described as the CORDIES most powerful primeval urge.

DORK    An ABORTION.  A real wipe-out.  The ultimate LOSER.

DOUCHE BAG   Yet another term of abuse.  A DORK.

DOUCHE OUT   To fail or stuff up. “I douched out in Maths last session.”

DRILLIE    A mindless robot dressed as a man wearing Sergeant’s stripes (Editor: or WO1 or Wo2).  Drillies have two functions only in life: first to teach drill (Editor: incessant parade marching just to look the part to pampered parents and the media on GRAD) in the most impersonal manner possible, and secondly to DICK the boys AROUND.  Drillies always have some trait in their character which is picked on and mimicked to perfection by cadets.  Drillies’ functional heads stop about ear level, the rest being there only to hold on their hats.  Drillies are the only people who voluntarily wear WOKKAS (Editor: usually an Army officer’s khaki woollen peaked cap, but at Duntroon also a second version coloured in black and red).  Life would be very dull without Drillies.    (Editor:  think ‘Full Metal Jacket’…)

DRILLIE AMBUSH     These occur when DRILLIES hide themselves behind corners or pillars so that they can BUMPH cadets for not marching properly around the area.  Once in the DEMILITARISED ZONE one is generally safe.

‘DS’

1. Deadly Serious – if someone does everything by the book, he is said to be very DS about life.
2. Directing Staff.  The regular NCOs and officers who organise and run cadet exercises, and mark you on how you went.  DS are usually very DS about their exercises!

DULL   An expression designed to describe first years (freshmen cadets) who have a habit of doing and saying very stupid things in their first few months.

DUNPOOKA   The present day RMC, Duntroon.  The place has’ become so strict and regimented that it resembles the first Recruit Training Base (l RTB) Kapooka.  Thus the expression 2RTB. DUNPOOKA was born.

DURRY   A cigarette.  The, most important morale booster apart from a BREW ever invented for the FID.  When it is cold and wet, nothing helps like lighting up a DURRY.  Tailor mades are best even though they take up more space than rollies – you can’t roll a rollie if your hands are wet.  Tailors are the most stable currency in the FID, sometimes selling for AWESOME prices.  Your best mate is one who has a spare DURRY that you can BOT off him.

E

ENDEX    The end of an exercise. The time all CORDIES desperately hope for except MILITARY CRIPPLES.   ENDEX signifies that most satisfactory of all expressions: “Mag off, pack off, fuck off!”

ENGINEER   A cadet who made the mistake of ticking the wrong box at enrolment. Most engineers have to be such ACCATRONS that they have no personality whatsoever, although some go out of their way to prove this wrong. Engineers get very little sleep, are usually tense, and justify their mistake by saying that they will end up with a decent degree. Not many of them end up with any degree at all.

ERIC ENDAWAY   There are four very definite stages in sleazing on to a woman:  GARY GROUNDWORK is where the initial approaches are made, SIMON SUPERSTRUCTURE is just above the groundwork, IVAN IN THERE is when there are definite prospects, and ERIC ENDAWAY speaks for itself.  (Editor:  There is no male equivalent because ADFA and Duntroon are dominated by young male cadets aged 18-24).

EXTRA DRILL  (or ED)  Halfway between CHECKIES and a CHARGE, the ED involves a huge DICK AROUND over the weekend when you do half an hour’s drill at 7am, 9am, 2pm, and 5pm on Saturday and Sunday depending on how many EDs you get.

F

FACTION   A group of people who stick together like glue.   The biggest faction at the Academy is the RAAF GD Faction, caused because not only do they only ever speak of flying, but they don’t understand anything else.

FARTER   Your bed.   Next to the DOONA, the farter is the most important bit of kit to a CORDIE.  The humble farter set up by the heater and covered by a DOONA creates an irresistible force that claims CORDIES 90% of the time they walk into their room.

FEELING LAZY   If someone says that he’s feeling lazy, then SQUIDS watch out!  He means that he’s too lazy even to resort to MRS PALMER,  so he needs a SQUID (female cadet). SQUIDS can be trained to do all the work.  (Editor:  There is no male equivalent because ADFA and Duntroon are dominated by young male cadets aged 18-24).

FID    From Fd, the abbreviation for field.  One is seldom “out bush”, one is “in the fid”. A whole range of cheap equipment is essential for comfort in the tid, like fid mug, fid camera, fid spoon, etc. Everyone hates being in the fid when they’re there, however once in the Land of ACCA, the FID is longed for.  It invariably rains in the FID.   (Editor:  This sounds like being derived from a speech impediment called ‘gliding’ – an inability to pronounce ‘L’ in words like ‘field’.)

FID FAT   An erection got in the FID, usually caused by FREE SNAKING.  Fairly rare occurrences, TID FATs are essential topics of lunch time conversations.

FIFTY PERCENT SYNDROME   Often wrongly called the 51% syndrome.  This is used because of the fact that CORDIES hate doing more work than they have to, and 50% is a pass in ACCAS.  51% is wasted effort, and 49% is a wasted year.

FILTH    “That woman is filthy” means she is a real BONK.  If a film “is pure filth”, then it is full of sex, and everyone watches it.  (Editor:  There is no male equivalent because ADFA and Duntroon are dominated by young male cadets aged 18-24).

FIRE UP   To get motivated –  I’ve got to FIRE UP for my ACCAS tonight.”

FIVES    Five minutes before parade, the time when you form up ready to march on.

FLEXIBLE   Not strict or rigid. If someone is flexible it means that they will occasionally turn a blind eye and not go straight down the line with policies.   (Editor:  ‘Flex’ was one’s nickname at Duntroon for this reason – as couldn’t take the useless Duntroon training seriously, so just mimed the part).

FLEX OUT    The cry “Flex out!” means that you are becoming too strict and must become more FLEXIBLE.

FOURTHY   A first year freshman.  Originally from the OLD Duntroon of 4 years, where first years were Fourth Class, second years were Third Class, etc. The words “DULL” and “FOURTHY” are synonymous and generally inseparable.  (Editor:  ADFA undergraduate degree courses are for 4 year full-time of two semesters per year .  At ‘NEW Duntroon’ (literally over the hill from ADFA) since the January 1986 intake, still has a culture of senior cadets branding 3rd Class cadets (the first six months of training) as ‘FOURTHIES‘.  The senior cadets are in 2nd Class (the next six months) then 1st Class (the next six months).  There is no cultural slur for senior cadets.)

FOURTHY TELLER   One of the most useful things a third year can have.  Even though they get paid more, (ADFA) third years invariably run out of money by the Friday before pay, so to go out on a weekend they resort to borrowing off the nearest FOURTHY (first year freshman).   FOURTHIES should always keep some money available to be borrowed, and good FOURTHIES can produce immediately on demand.   (Editor: Negative Leadership fostering abuse and contempt by senior cadets of junior cadets prevails distrust between the classes/years at ADFA/Duntroon).

FREE SNAKE    When in the FID, CORDIES usually don’t wear jocks as they cause jock rash. Loose boxer shorts are worn instead which means that you are free snaking -your snake is hanging free.

FURPH

1. The same as a “furphy” without the “y”.  A rumour.   A HOT FURPH is  one that is hot off the press, and the hotter it is, the more unlikely is to be true. ‘ That’s a hot one!”refers to a HOT FURPH.
2. A bludge, a soft opti0n.  Geography Major is the FURPHIEST way to get a Science Degree (at the old Duntroon and then at ADFA).

FURPH CONTROL CENTRE    DMET building, where the truth is sometimes revealed.

G

GARY GROUNDWORK     [See ERIC ENDAWAY]

GAZOOLIES   Breasts.   “She’s got huge gazoolies.” Normally only used when words like “huge” or “beautiful” are appropriate.  One seldom has small gazoolies-one has small tits.

GET OFF MY CASE     The same as “get off my back”. In other words, stop bothering me.  “Why haven’t you done all those things I asked you?” “Get off my case, would you?  I’ll do them tomorrow.”

GOAT A WORK PARTY  (or a SHAFT A DICK AROUND).  This is short for ‘Goat Fuck’, a GOAT involves you doing something you don’t want to do (as in being on the anal receiving end) that will take up your time, e.g. cleaning up the Mess after a Corps Party.  Goats usually go to FOURTHIES (to get such labourious chores done).

GOFFER   A can of soft drink.

GOLF SQUADRON    The “Autonomous Collective” to which cadets who are fed up with their Squadron PUTSCH wish to be in. The idea was thought up by members of Delta Sqn. Golf Sqn is the ideal place where only rules that do not DICK the boys AROUND are enforced. Unfortunately, Golf Sqn is still fictitious.

GOOK   An Asian (from Vietnam War veteran soldiers/NCO’s – a South East Asian).   [See CLACK]

GRAD    Graduation.   The time that all CORDIES hope for, and probably the only reason that keeps most third years at the Academy.  (Editor: The clichéd Duntroon cap air tossing event is purely for ADF recruitment propaganda for the next intake round, so performed in front of the colonial heritage Duntroon House, so it looks like a classy university campus.  It’s nothing of the sort.)

GRAND WIZARD    [See MORALS TRIAL]

GREYMAN    A cadet who exists but does not live.  Greymen are invariably BLOCKRATS and never get into trouble for anything because they never do anything except their ACCAS.  It is a fact that if you get through the Academy without a CHARGE then you are either very lucky by not getting caught , else a GREYMAN.  Greymen are not very popular.   (Editor: Yet suitable for the Army’s Intelligence Corps.)

GROGAN    The type of ugly woman who is just better than a THUGLY.    (Editor:  There is no male equivalent because ADFA and Duntroon are dominated by young males aged 18-24).

GRUB    The Navy term for a FOURTHY.  Unlike the RAAFIES, the MIDS treat GRUBS with as much disgust as CORDIES treat FOURTHIES.  RAAFIES are too interested in flying or ACCAS to realise that such creatures exist.   (Editor: What a respectful training subculture!)

GUMPY   An all-purpose word that has a number of very strict meanings.  Strictly, a gumpy is a lollie, or chocolate.  However it can also mean any other food that is for sale within the division, for example pies, pasties, or sausage rolls.  But if these foods are bought outside in a shop, they are not called gumpies!  This is a delicate, but important, distinction.

H

HONEYCHILD    An attractive looking woman, preferably blonde.  Normally on sight they are called honeychilds, but on speaking to them they are reclassified as AIRHEADS.  (Editor:  There is no male equivalent because ADFA and Duntroon are  dominated by young males aged 18-24).

HONEYPOT   [See HONEYCHILD]

HOSE     To suck up or brown-nose.   Usually done to ACCAS, HOSING is often the only way to ensure you passing.  If you HOSE to the PUTSCH, it normally means that you are looking for promotion or a good mark for your training record.  But, worthy officers recognise HOSING by cadets and treat it with the contempt it deserves.

HUGE

1. The normal meaning of the word except that when spoken the pitch of the voice rises dramatically on the “u”.  “She’s got huge GAZOOLIES!”
2. Excellent.  “Did you hear that the PUTSCH are thinking of abolishing 0600 roll call?”  “Really? … HUGE!”

I

IN AFTERS    To go next.  If you want to use a tennis court that someone else is already playing on, just ask “In afters?”

IN FOR    “Do you want to go to the BIN tonight?” “Yeah, I’m in for that.”   (An expression of interest in a subject).

INTEREST    Motivation.  A quality that is generally lacking in CORDIES‘ attitudes towards ACCAS or anything else remotely resembling work.

IVAN IN THERE    [See ERIC ENDAWAY]  (Editor:  There is no female equivalent because ADFA and Duntroon are dominated by young males aged 18-24).

J

JACK    (Editor:  To ‘Jack on’ (aka ‘betray’) your mates)   This is the ultimate word that generations have been searching for.  Basically it means to do the wrong thing (Editor: by your mates).  If you tell on your mate, you’ve jacked on him.  If you continually BOT something without ever having it to let others use, you’re a JACKMAN.  If you refuse to do favours for your mate like lending him your notes to study, you’re a JACKMAN.  If you tell your mate’s girlfriend that he’s JACKED on her by DAFFING a GROGAN, you’ve JACKED on him.

(Editor:  This noble principle was perhaps the only Duntroon lore that as a junior cadet there back in early 1987 I held absolute as a given, never to break without question – to uphold the trust and commitment to one’s fellow cadet soldiers.  Julian Knight and I shared this absolute bond throughout during our time training together, including at times in the field in close quarters at Majura.  We both honoured this principle to this heart.  It is one of the few positive leadership guidance ideals at Duntroon that one valued.  Regrettably my assigned mentor Captain Goss proved unworthy of that mentoring trust.  He became one of the core reasons to resign from Duntroon and the Army).

JUMP UP    A person who arrives at the Academy and who is given advanced standing because they’ve done a year at a civvy uni.  A JUMP UP gets all the privileges of second year without any of the hardships of being a FOURTHY, so they have to be very diplomatic if they don’t want to be rejected by both years.  (Editor:  One had competed two years of uni prior to Duntroon in 1987, but this lore was not applied, nor even known – JACKS!).  

K

KAPTAIN KORDIE    (KK)  This fictitious man is the saviour of all CORDIES.  He is all seeing, ever present, and usually features in the cartoon sequence of the BLOWRAG punching out those members of the PUTSCH who see their only role in life as DICKING THE BOYS AROUND.  Hated and actively pursued by the PUTSCH, KK‘s true identity will always remain a closely guarded secret.  (Editor:  It must have took a night full of beers to concoct this meme.)

KELVIN    Absolute zero from the Kelvin temperature scale.  The ultimate in LOSERS, ABORTIONS, DORKS and total misfits are nicknamed KELVIN.  KELVIN is not a word advised to be used when describing someone who is bigger than you.  Someone may JACK on you and tell him what you said.

KICK ARSE    An expression designed to show that one did well in something. “How did you go in the exam?”… “I kicked arse.”

KISS THE PILLOW   [See BITE THE PILLOW]

KIWI      The New Zealand cadets.  Kiwis are often big, black and mean, else big, white and mean.  Either way they have a penchant for sheep and for speaking funny, and are usually very popular.

L

LANA:   If spelled backwards, LANA says it all.   The Lana Club is a club of sick, deviate CORDIES who have made themselves legends in their own minds by going Jana. AIDS has become a big worry to the Lana Club.

LARRY:     LARRY LOSER is the man who epitomises the ultimate DORK.  To be called LARRY, however, is only a fairly mild nickname.

LEGOLAND:    The Academy (ADFA), because all the buildings look like Lego models.

 

LEMON:    A lesbian.  In a STICKY, people always make sure that they see the lemon scene.

LINE BOOK:    A book that is kept in each division’s REC ROOM and in which anyone may record any verbal blunder made by members of the division. Inevitably profane, these comments make for interesting and often educational reading.

LOOSEN:    A comment given to those who are rather uptight about something or who are being too DS about a policy. ‘

LOSER:    [See LARRY]

M

MAGGOT    On the sliding scale of ugly women, a maggot comes between a  THUGLY and a GROGAN.   A MAGGOT would not win very many beauty contests.  (Editor:  There is no male equivalent because ADFA and Duntroon are dominated by young males aged 18-24).

MAGGOTTED    Very drunk indeed.   A CORDIE can be judged MAGGOTTED if he is so drunk that he is seeing redeemable qualities in a MAGGOT.

MASTER KEY   DOs  hold keys which open all the accommodation room doors, enabling them to carry out inspections any time of the day or night that they see fit.  These inspections are known as MASTER KEY inspections, are always JACK, and often end up in the cadet getting BUMPHED.

MAX   Short for “maximum”.   “He LARRIED to the MAX with that GROGAN.”

 

MEGA   [See HUGE]

 

MESS FOOD   Stuff that is served up in the mess and is often inedible.  Makes a truism of the joke:  Why do they call cooks ‘fitters and turners’?…because they fit food into pots and turn it into shit!

 

MID    Short for Midshipman.  Even more arrogant than Army cadets, MIDS are God’s gift to the Navy.  Just ask them.  If you want a second opinion, ask them again.

 

MILITARY CRIPPLE    One whose whole life is ruled by the military, who enjoys wearing military clothing into town, and who loved going into the FID and being very DS. Sad cases.

MINIMUM EFFORT    The only way to get through the Academy with some semblance of enjoyment.  The minimum effort is the perennial bugbear of the PUTSCH who have tried since the dawn of time to eradicate it.  They have always failed.  (Editor: contradictory, the only positive about Duntroon was the Officers Mess tucker; just that one needed more than the allocated 5 minutes by the senior cadets in order to actually eat it.)

MMM…RECKON    An expression of disbelief that something is to be done, and a realisation that it never will be.  “After 0600 roll call, no-one is to go back to bed.”   “Mmm ..reckon.”

 

MODE    Your. present mood. If you are tired, you are in RACK mode If you are FIRED UP for ACCAS, you are in ACCA mode, etc.

 

MOGAN    The least ugly form of ugly woman. This creature usually only has three or four horrible points about its body.

 

MONSTER    There are mainly three types of monster-the RACK monster creeps up and bites you when you are trying to ACCA so you immediately have to go to the FARTER; the Fluff monster is a deadly species of fluff which inhabits unvacuumed carpets or unkempt jumpers; and the TOC monster is a cadet, usually an ARTIST, who is always at TOC from five minutes before it is put out until lunch.

MORALS    Something very few cadets have.

MORALS TRIAL    A public trial full of invented evidence that punishes a sinner who has committed an ATROCITY, usually with a DENTHOR ARGABAG.  Presided over by the GRAND WIZARD of Morals, the verdict is left to the gathered masses who inevitably find the sinner guilty.  A typical punishment is cleansing by drinking an ANIMAL BREW.

MORRIE MUSO    The Musorian army is the fictitious force that is the enemy of CORDIES in the FID.  Full of CLACKS, the term for a Musorian soldier is MORRIE MUSO.

MR JELLY IN A CUP   An aberration produced by the mess that looks like jelly with bits of fruit in it, stale fake cream on top, which is encased in a plastic cup and stays on the dessert tray for months at a time.   The Queen has been known to send a “congratulations on your 100th birthday” telegram to Mr Jelly in a Cup.

MRS PALMER     If you can’t make it with a woman, you can always resort to Mrs Palmer and her five daughters.  Your hand.  (Editor:  There is no female equivalent because ADFA and Duntroon are  dominated by young males aged 18-24).

N

NAAFI  Said as one word, meaning Not At All Fucking Interested.

NI    Not Interested.  A state of mind that occurs to CORDIES about June in their first year and lasts till GRAD.  (Editor: An old Duntroonism in the days of full year terms – January to December).

NIGEL OF THE 901st    The usual Musorian battalion that attacks CORDIES is the 901st Raider Battalion. Manned entirely by hordes of screaming yellow NIGELS, this is an awesome battalion that always wins massed attacks on the last day but loses out on ambushes.  NIGEL of the 901st is a respected but very dull soldier who can’t hear snores from a night ambush position even if he’s only five metres away.

NON EVENT   An event that the PUTSCH look forward to with great anticipation, and have the false impression that cadets do too. A typical example would be the presentation of Academic and Military Awards which is generally a celebration of the biggest VORTS and HOSERS in the Academy.

NURRIES  Short for “No Worries”.  “Will you do that for me?”…”Yeah, NURRIES.”

NUTS   Short for Not Up To Standard.   This general purpose word applies to uniforms and cadets alike.

O

OBNO   Short for “obnoxious”.  “I hate that STROPPY FOURTHY, he’s an OBNO little bastard!”

 

OIL    Orders In Lines.   A way of passing messages whereby a FOURTHY stands at the head of a corridor and shouts with all his might “Excuse me please, Ladies and Gentlemen”. He then delivers the message in a voice designer to wake not only the dead but also any sleeping CORDIES, and finishes off with “Please!” If he stuffs up any word he has to do it again until he gets it right.  The OIL is designed to strengthen the vocal cords.

 

ON THE RAGS    If a female is having her period, she is on the rags.   However, this expression is also applied to describing anyone who is rather TENSE.  “The DO was TENSE this morning.”  “Yeah, you want to steer clear of her, she’s on her rags today.”  (Editor:  There is no male equivalent because ADFA and Duntroon are dominated by young males aged 18-24).

 

OQs   If one is deemed unfit to be an officer by the PUTSCH, one can be put on a warning for a lack of Officer Qualities, known as OQs.  It is interesting to – ·· note that very few people who pass all their ACCAS are on OQs, whereas those who fail, even if it is obvious to Blind Freddie that they will be top class officers, often find themselves about to be kicked out for a lack of OQs.

 

OUT FOR    “Do you want to go to the BIN tonight?”… “Nah, I’m out for that.”     The opposite of IN FOR.

 

OUT OF CONTROL   An expression of disgust usually at the PUTSCH‘s organisation (or lack of it) of some function, or when you find out that you’ve been SHAFTED for GOAT.

OVER THE HILL   An expression for RMC – to go there is to go OVER THE HILL since physically you have to go over Mount Pleasant to get there.

P

PBJ    Short for Peanut Butter Jar, a euphemism for LANA, for fairly obvious coloured reasons.  (All class)

PISSED OFF LOLLIES    The butterscotch lollies that are in the 24-hour ration packs issued when out in the FID.  The pissed off lollie is eaten when morale is low and needs a big boost (not that they are very nice anyway!).   They are the second most stable currency in the FID after DURRIES.

POLICY BUMPH    A mass BUMPH handed out simply because you feel like it, or because you think a group of people (usually FOURTHIES) need it An example would be doing an inspection when you’ve decided already to BUMPH everyone for shoes NUTS no matter how good they are.

POONTANG    Sex.   ”I’ll take her up to my room for a little bit of poontang.”

PRAVDA    A magazine of the middle class revolution, this is the second Years’ equivalent of the BLOWRAG.  Whereas.the BLOWRA.G.. hacks the PUTSCH and SQUIDS, Pravda hacks third years and SQUIDS.

PUSSER   A term for Navy personnel.

PUTSCH    Officers. The Putsch are those who bring down decisions that DICK the boys AROUND, and as such CORDIES have as much affection for them as roos do for roo-bars.

Q

QB   The Queen’s Birthday Parade at RMC.  However, it is a general term for the time when third years become somewhat more FLEXIBLE with FOURTHIES.  If someone, especially an ACCA, calls you by your surname then he calls others by their Christian name, you should say to him “FLEX OUT, it’s after QB-you can call me by my Christian name.”

R

RAAFIE A CHAP    RAAFIES at the Academy are divided up into GD (General Duties–Flyers), Engineers and Supply.  They engage in a continual argument about which branch is best, which is rather like arguing about which is best between syphilis, gonorrhea and herpes.

 

RACK     Bed. The most treasured institution a CORDIE has, the rack plays an integral part in everyday life. Set up by the heater and covered by a DOONA, CORDIES have an eter;nal love affair with their rack, and attempt to consummate this love as often as possible. To “Hit the rack” means to go to bed, and woe betide the FOURTHY who drags you out for a trivial.reason.

 

RACKED-OUT    To be racked out is to be asleep. Sometimes abbreviated for racked, this is the condition that keeps CORDIES going through the’rll:l.y>is i ;; ‘ht .

 

REC ROOM    :Short.for Recreation Room-the common room located iri·the ., ‘” •:- ,.. ‘) centre of each accommodation block. This is the most populated area of the
Academy because not only does it hold the TV and VID machine, but also the BREW gear and GUMPIES.

 

REPEAT    If you fail your ACCAS, it is possible to be offered a repeat year.   Repeats generally have an easy existence as they have had the extra year’s experience, but if they fail anything again, they are automatically out.

 

RESIGN   This is the call that often goes out to the LOSERS that are wanted out of the Corps.  Once started, cries of “Resign” echo from all parts of the Academy in an effort to drop a subtle hint to the offender that he is no longer wanted.

 

RINGPIECE   The very end of one’s backside.  On hearing of a surprise inspection, there is quite often heard the clang of falling ringpieces as CORDIES realise they are about to be BUMPHED.

 

ROCKSHOW   An incredibly badly organised non-event. Muttered sarcastic choruses of “This is not a rockshow” permeate the atmosphere as CORDIES give vent to their feelings about being DICKED AROUND to the MAX.

ROCK UP   “Aren’t you going to English?”…  “Yeah, but I’ll rock up ten minutes late.”

S

SCALER    One who is eternally medically restricted and can never go on parades or do PT.  Scalers can easily be identified by being very unpopular.

SCHLONG   The Jewish word for penis.  Hence.”Long schlong.”

SCIENTIST   The last type of degree stream.  A scientist has an amount of work halfway between an ARTIST and an ENGINEER.  This means that scientists are usually in limbo being neither one thing nor the other.

SCOFF    The RAAP word for TOC.

SCORCHED EARTH    If you and your mates happen to be first at TOC one morning, it is compulsory to eat as much as you can, and when you are absolutely stuffed, you must totally ruin anything left so that ENGINEERS who arrive late having had a lecture are faced with a scene from Armageddon.  This is the Scorched Earth TOC policy and is excellent fun.

SCREAMER    Yet another type of LOSER, the difference being that a LOSER can’t do anything right, while a screamer purposely sets out to be a JACKMAN and enjoys doing it.

SCUNGE    The ultimate in untidy clothing.  You come back from being in uniform all day, you have a BREW and a DURRY and change into SCUNGE.  There are acceptable types of scunge, very scungy, scunge not being allowed outside your room.

SEAL   A steward in the Mess.  Derived from the word Imbecile, this usually describes them.

SECRET    “What are you doing tonight?” “Secret.”  “Why did you miss that goal on the weekend?”  “I didn’t · · it was a secret goal.”

SEEN    A word used originally in the FID that has been adopted for everyday use: “Where’s the sugar?”  “On top of that bench to the left of the BREW MUGS.” “Seen.”  Used when confirming that something you have been looking for has been found.

SERGEANT SEIKO    An alternative to CAPTAIN CASIO.

SHAFT

1. “I’ve been shafted to be host to some PUTSCH at the conference.
2. A GOAT.

SHAVING CREAM BOMB    The most useful BISH weapon.  A can of shaving cream that is shaken up and then punctured in the bottom.’ The “‘ – shaving cream comes out in a fine mist settling on everything. If not wiped off immediately. it sets like concrete and is a bastard to clean off.

SLAM    Punch. “If you don’t watch out I’ll slam you.”

SLUG    Short for Slow, Lazy, Ugly Grunt.  A SLUG is one who is fat and doesn’t pass the PT (physical training) test.

SMACK    An expression both of appreciation of the female sex and of intention to do more with her.  On seeing a HONEYCHILD on TV, a chorus of “smack” runs round the REC ROOM. Alternatively, “See that woman over there?  I’d like to smack her!” This can be abbreviated to smacking your lips or your hands together.  (Editor:  There is no male equivalent because ADFA and Duntroon are dominated by young males aged 18-24).

SNAP   To SPIN OUT or SPIT THE DUMMY.  If someone is having a SNAP, then you can infuriate them even more by just looking at them and calmly saying SNAP! as a short sharp word.

SPANNER   Still another term of abuse.

SPIN OUT   To get angry.  “She came up and abused me, so I spun out at her.”

SPIT

1. To SPIN OUT.
2. To be sick, usually after a hard night on the grog.

SPIT THE DUMMY    To SPIN OUT in a major way.

SPLIT     To change very quickly from one set of uniform into another is known as doing a split

SQUID   A term for female cadets.  Called squids because they’re flabby, they smell of fish, are easy to get into, enfold you with their tentacles and squeeze the moral life out of you. If a female cadet is called a squid in passing, she should not take offence; however if she is referred to as a “Dirty fucking squid” then she should get the hint that she’s not liked.  (Editor:  There is no male equivalent because ADFA and Duntroon are dominated by young males aged 18-24).

SQUID ANKLE    To be seen DIDDLEY BOPPING around on crutches or limping having twisted your ankle means you have been infected with squid ankle.   This was got from the fact that it is a very common sight to see SQUIDS on crutches or limping whenever there is a parade or PT.

SQUID WOMAN   The sworn enemy of KAPTAIN KORDIE,  Squidwoman is the creature that threatens to morally destroy the Corps.  So great was the danger of her succeeding in 1986, that KK had to come back from the Middle East to save the situation, and look what has happened in the Middle East since then.

STAB   A backstab on someone. Something like the BLOWRAG is the perfect outlet for all the pent up stabs that people need to get out of their systems.   Stabs are normally very cutting in the BLOWRAG, but should be be amusing as.

STANDARD NATO  The usual thing.  A standard NATO BREW is milk with two sugars; a standard NATO Wednesday morning parade is ACC’ s parade; and a standard NATO sport result is a loss.

STANDARDS   Military standards mean that you are a BOGGED ON cadet.  However, if you are called a standards man as you ROCK UP for parade dressed in clothes that look like they’ve just come out of the dryer, you shouldn’t think that it is a serious comment.  The RAAP in general have no standards at all.

STICKY   A sticky is an X-rated movie. A stick mag is a pornographic publication. “Got any stick?” means that he’s asking you for a stick mag.

STROP OUT    To SPIN OUT. However, this term is generally used with reference to FOURTHIES who SNAP at third years.  This is not tolerated.    (Editor:  What, virtue signalling now?)

STROPPY   A stroppy FOURTHY is an arrogant little bastard who reckons he knows so much about the system that he doesn’t need third years to tell him anything.  Stroppy FOURTHIES normally find themselves BISHED out of existence.

SUCK IN THE ZEDS     To go to sleep. “I was fair sucking in the zeds during that lecture, it was so boring.”

SUS

1. Someone who is usually unpleasant and who SNAPS easily is said to be SUS.
2. A sus ACCA is one who is failing.  It was a bit sus that he said he was in the library, when I saw him at the BIN.”

SWITCH OFF   [See SWITCH ON]

SWITCH ON   A command given to those who are daydreaming or who have answered a question with a very silly answer. Inother words, a command given to those who have SWITCHED OFF.

SYDNOS    Sydney, the place where all CORDIES go for as many weekends as possible. If you want to go out with a girl who is not an APPLE GIRL, you generally have to either GARRY onto a schoolgirl who’s in grade 10, or go to Sydnos. Even there you have to choose carefully.

SYPH   Short for syphilitic, when used as a noun it is in reference to a JACK SCREAMER. When used as a verb, it describes a JACK SCREAMER.

T

TAD   A little bit.  “Want some more sugar in your BREW?” “Just a tad.” r ‘

TAG   To masturbate.

TAG VALUE    Something worth TAGGING over-something’that excites you or gives you a buzz.  “That shoot on the M60 was real tag value.”

TAKE TWO    The STANDARD NATO BUMPH is to do two EXTRA DRILLS.  Thus you only ever have to say “Take two.”

TAMPON SQUADRON    The Commandant’s Squadron, called such because the white gorger patches they have to wear on their collars look like tampons.

TANG    The noun use of POONTANG.

TAP DANCE   To speak and think very quickly in an effort to avoid trouble when you’ve been busted doing something wrong.  It doesn’t really matter if the story’s true or not, as long as it sounds convincing and is difficult to check up on.  For example if you were asked “Why did you miss that lecture yesterday?” by your DO, the simple answer is usually “Because I couldn’t be bothered to go.”  This, however, means that you will probably be CHARGED.  So you tap dance.  Under prolonged interrogation you must ensure that you don’t contradict yourself, or you might get CHARGED both for Integrity and missing the lecture.  The PUTSCH sometimes recognise tap dancing (having done it themselves when they were CORDIES), and throw in awkward questions to see how good a tap dancer you really are. This is very JACK, but a good tap dance is often appreciated and enjoyed by them.  A  good tap dancer can dance rings around the ACCAS –  they’re too trusting!

TASMANIAN   Tasmanians are renowned for inbreeding, so if any reference to it comes up (e.g. in a STICKY), that is a Tasmanian scene.

TATTOO   The messages that come out each night telling the Corps what is happening the next day are called tattoo.

TENSE    Someone who is uptight, overwrought or SUS is said to be tense.  Usually they are told to LOOSEN.

TFE   Short for Too Fucking Easy.  If something seems;tQ very complicated tQ someone and another bloke explains it very simply, he usually finishes his · explanation with the words “TFE” to boost up the confidence in the first person who is undoubtedly still baffled. Alternatively, “This task is  TFE–just move that piano up three flights of narrow stairs.”

THANKS MURRAY   There is a bloke by the name of Murray who is reknowned for making really stupid comments. Thus if anyone makes a stupid comment, a good reply is “Thanks, Murray.”

THE OLD … OPTION   “To win this game it looks as if I might have to use the old ABC option.”    “Never mind, if that fails there’s always the old win-next-time-if-you’re-lucky option.”  Your choices.

THOUSAND DAYS    This is a tradition brought over from the old RMC.  Cadets in their second year encounter 1000 days before they get their commission.  On this monumental occasion, the FOURTHIES in their division take them out for a night of hard drinking. FOURTHIES pay for the whole night, so huge amounts of money are required to be taken. The idea is that you make sure that however much you spent on your second year the previous year is recovered when it is your turn to be taken out.

THUGLY    The kind of woman who is liable to SLAM you if you are ‘ STROPPY to her.  A THUGLY is only one step better than a DENTHOR ARGABAG.  (Editor:  There is no male equivalent because ADFA and Duntroon are dominated by young males aged 18-24).

TOC   Originally this stood for “Tea Or Coffee”, but now it encompasses everything that is found at morning tea, afternoon tea, or a snack.  The solid food, if it is not bread, is known as TOE ROCKS.

TOCCY   If you go out and get takeaway food in town, this is known as going on
a toccy.

TOO EASY   A polite way of saying TFE.  TOPS excellent, MEG A, HUGE.

TWILIGHT ZONE    Often shortened to “TZ” or “The Zone”, if one is in the Twilight Zone one is in the RACK.  The TZ is the world of hidden dreams. which is why the Academy is often referred to as the Twilight Zone-everything that happens is not real.

U

UP YA   If you went up to a CORDIE and asked “Excuse me. but would you think it presumptuous of me to offer you a lamington?”, he would either take your temperature or SLAM you, depending on his mood. However, if you said “Get a lammo up ya” he would gladly take one, and might even invite you to “Get a DURRY up ya” in return.

USE YOUR BALLS     If someone is speaking, and people can’t hear him, the cry “Use your balls” informs the speaker that he should speak lot!der. This expression ran into great problems when DIDDLEYS arrived at the Academy,  as it was hardly deemed appropriate:  “Use your ovaries”is the generally accepted compromise for those who are unfortunate not to possess balls.”

V

VID     A video cassette or recorder  (Editor:  This term was used back in 1987 and used not long afterwards as technology advanced.  So it is outdated.  These days SKYPE has replaced the term, especially when male cadets secretly (criminally) film female cadets having sex or being raped in barracks.)

VORT    From vortex, an expression for engineers.  Used because most of them possess no personality, so the individuality in their makeup is just a vortex. “I’m vorting” is the engineers’ expression for “I’m ACCAING“. (Editor:  ??)

W

WAA    Very dapper and very cool. “That man is waa cool” is a compliment.

WAIT OUT    From the radio/telephone procedures meaning, wait and I’ll get back to you.

WAR-Y

1. A VlD about war, watched religiously by all.
2. A yam. ”Spin us an ACCA war-y.”

WEETIES    The breakfast cereal, used in reference to them building up one’s strength.  Usually used in sport – if , a shot is too powerful you’ve had too many weeties this morning, and vice versa-but not exclusively a sporting expression.

WHO CARES    An NI expression that conveys to the listener that you don’t give a stuff about what they have been talking about

WIFE   If you go out with a girl for more than a week, you are seen to have been married off, so expressions like “How’s the wife?” are to be expected.

WINNER   Originally there was a LARRY LOSER and WALLY WINNER was  the bloke who did everything right However, now it is used in a derogatory sense – “That bloke is a real winner” means that he’s a real LOSER.

WIPE OUT

1. A scuff mark on your spit polished shoes.
2. A DORK.

WOOMPAH

1. Sex. Used in a similar fashion to SMACK.
2. The noise your fist makes as you SLAM someone. “He got TENSE with me, soIlaid into him and woompah, he was flat on his back.”

WOOS   A derogatory term for Computer Science.

 

WOKKA    The issue Army hat.  They have a flat top that cannot be BASHED and an enormous peak.  Wokka comes from the noise a helicopter’s rotor blades make as the helicopter comes in to land on the top of the hat, having mistaken the wide flat expanse as the deck of an aircraft carrier.  No CORDIE voluntarily wears a wokka.  (Editor: A ‘WOKKA’ at ADFA/Duntroon is usually an Army officer’s peaked cap worn by Duntroon staff cadets on parade in formal uniform (dress) – its is either khaki olive else black and red, depending upon which dress uniform is worn. a Khaki/olive coloured WOOKA is also worn by a drill sergeant or ‘DRILLIE‘).  

WOOSH    The sound you make when you HOSE. If someone has been HOSING, a chorus of whispered wooshes reverberates around the rafters.

WOOZA   A BEARDED CLAM.  If you asked a male “How’s your WOOZA, you wouldn’t be casting doubts on his manhood, you’d be asking after his girlfriend.

WORK PARTY   [See GOAT]

Y

YEAH WHATEVER     An expression of complete disinterest used as a response to a request to do something you don’t want to do.

“Will you take the SCHOOLIES to the lecture tonight, look after them, and make sure none get lost on the way back?”   “Yeah whatever.”

Z

ZED    See SUCK IN THE ZEDS.

ZERO     A LOSER, a person with no personality.

ZIPPER     A ZERO.   ZIPPERHEAD A ZIPPER.

ZONE     See TWILIGHT ZONE.

ZOT      A LOSER, an ABORTION, a DORK, etc. The list goes on. ZOZZLE Yet another derivation of ZERO.

ZZZZZZZ      The sound you make when someone is being a ZERO.