Last Absolution of the Munsters, by Fortunino Matania
In 1930, John Brophy and Eric Partridge published a collection of British songs and slang from the war. They claimed that soldiers used the word 'fucking' so often that it was merely a warning 'that a noun is coming.' In a normal situation, swear words are used for emphasis, but Brophy and Partridge found that obscenity was so over-used among the military in the Great War that if a soldier wanted to express emotion he wouldn't swear. 'Thus, if a sergeant said, "Get your --ing rifles!" it was understood as a matter of routine. But if he said "Get your rifles!" there was an immediate implication of urgency and danger.' ~ Bee Wilson
2 comments:
Reminds me of the Boy Who Cried Wolf. Beautiful picture, BTW. I looked it up to find out more about it - wars are such useless things.
I looked it up. 800 went out; 200 came back. Catholic priest serving as chaplin, mainly Irish soldiers. Ghastly war with unimaginative (to be kind) commanders.
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