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The Great War

The Tommy's Tongue

Return to Vocabulary Index

G - Gee

Gas Bag:
(1) The cloth bag in which the respirator was carried, or sometimes the respirator (gas helmet) itself. (2) An airship or barrage balloon.
Gasper:
Cheap cigarette.
Gas Pipe Cavalry:
Army Cyclist Corps.
Gaspirator:
British gas mask incorporating a filter. From a combination of gas and respirator.
Gassed:
Getting gassed, getting drunk.
Gearsman:
Tank crew member responsible for managing the gears.
Geese:
Portuguese. See also Pork and Beans.
Geranium:
Staff officer. So called because of the red cap-band and collar tabs. See also Red Tab.
Gieves, Matthew & Seagrove:
Naval slang for the trio of Great War campaign medals (1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal). From the well-known firm of naval outfitters. See also Pip, Squeak & Wilfred.
Glasshouse:
Military prison or detention center.
Glory Hole:
Dug-out.
Go Up:
To go up the line, i.e. into the trenches.
Go West:
(1) To be killed, to die. The most popular euphemism of this type. (2) To go astray or be stolen.
Goer:
Shell passing overhead.
Goggle-Eyed Booger with the Tit:
British gas helmet. The wearer had to breathe in through the nose from inside the helmet and breathe out through a valve held in the teeth.
Gooseberry:
Barbed wire entanglement or reel. From the prickly nature of the gooseberry bush.
Gorblimey:
Peaked canvas service cap, made sloppy in appearance by removing the wire stiffener from the crown, not usually seen until after the end of 1914; generally scruffy or sloppy. A Cockney expression, a corruption of God blind me.
Grass-Cutters:
Small anti-personnel bombs dropped from aircraft on to camps and bivouacs behind the lines. They were designed to burst on impact and scatter shrapnel balls at low-level, with the intention to kill rather than to destroy material things.
Green Cross:
German phosgene gas, from the marking painted on the delivery shell casing.
Greyback:
(1) British army shirt, with sharp-edged tin buttons. From the color. (2) A louse.
Grey Hen:
Rum jar. A grey and brown earthenware jug which contained the rum ration, usually Navy Pusser's rum.
Griffin:
Confidential information or warning of trouble to come. The bottom line.
Grog:
Rum, usually watered down.
Grubber:
Spade or entrenching tool.
Gum Boots:
Rubber boots or waders sometimes worn in wet trenches.
Gunfire:
Strong tea, usually laced with rum.