Did you ever use a tilly ticket in the bathroom?
It’s the Moby Dick of etymology: Where do we get the phrase “the whole nine yards”? A pediatrician in North Carolina wonders if it derives from a World War II phrase involving “nine yards” of ammunition. Grant and...
Grant recommends two books that are great for giving as gifts. FUBAR: Soldier Sland of World War II by Gordon Rottman looks at the language of soldiers from different armies. Also, Ad Infinitum: A Biography of Latin by Nicholas Ostler, which looks...
dog robber n.— «Another assignment was to be a “dog robber” which was a military term for a general aide to a superior officer who could be called upon to do a multitude of things.» —“Columnist salutes World War II veterans for...