PoW Vocabulary: A Whole Different Language
Every trade or enterprise develops its own terminology and slang. This was no different for the PoWs of the Second World War trapped within the confines of their prison camps. Robert Mitchell presents an insight into some of the words and phrases adopted behind the barbed-wire.
To the PoWs the Germans were the “Goons” and from this noun there were many derivatives. An armed watch tower for German sentries was a “Goon-box”, the German uniform was “Goon-skin” and an official German communiqué was a “Goonique”! As an adjective, anything German was “Goonish”.
A “Ferret” was a Goon employed in snooping; a “Tame Ferret” was one who may have given some degree of assistance to the PoWs or had been compromised.
Unlikely to result in a Tame Ferret, “Goon-baiting” may have involved a “Flap” – an uproar or panic – which could have been ordered by the “Old Man”, the term often applied by the PoW’s to their senior officer.
“Appell” was the Roll-call which the Germans called “Roll-call” so that the PoWs could understand. The PoWs called it “Appell” so that the Germans could understand!
A “Brew” was, predictably, tea or coffee. But there was another drink that was strictly “verboten”; “Raisin Brew”. This was an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting raisins. “Verboten”, was of course, something attempted wherever possible to annoy the Germans.
A “Pit” was a bed or bunk, hence a “Pit-basher” was someone who was perpetually in bed – no doubt there were plenty of these types. However, there were those who referred to their bed or bunk as the “Sack”, and by definition in these cases a Pit-basher was now known as a “Sack-artist”. The adjective “Empitted” was taken to mean well-settled in bed. “Racket” was the derogatory term used by Pit-bashers or “the indolent” to describe enterprise on the part of the industrious!
Needless to say, a Pit-basher or Sack-artist was unlikely to make use of a “Pranger” (any substitute for a hammer), or be seen carrying a “Kein Trinkwasser”, the term applied for the Zinc water jugs supplied by the German authorities.
They were even less likely to be undertaking a “Dhobi” – which was the word used for the washing of clothes. From this came a “Dhobi-stick”, an implement used for pummeling clothes. It is said that this may have had phallic connotations!
In general PoW parlance, any duty or job to which they were assigned was a “Dienst” or simply “D”. Hence a prisoner may have been ordered to carry out a Dhobi-D or Cooking-D.
The “Cooler” was the detention cell for the “unruly”. The “Circuit” was the perimeter of the compound. The guards who patrolled around the Circuit, usually between the fence and the guard towers, was a “Stroller”.
“Glop” was the complimentary term for the delightful creations produced by the cookhouse, often described as a “sloppy mess”. “Gash” meant extra or unwanted food – and was often used in conjunction with Glop! Anyone whose stomach was upset by the Glop may have had to “Abort” or visit the latrines.
Small luxuries, uncommon as they were, could be obtained through the “Slush Fund”.
The noun “Stooge” referred to someone who did the dirty work – usually dish-washing. Used as a verb it meant both doing the dirty work and wandering around aimlessly. One can only wonder if the Pit-bashers when eventually roused from their beds then stooged around?
The Padre was “God”. Predictably, therefore, a “G-box” was the church and a “G-botherer” was one who regularly attended church services!
The PoWs referred to themselves as “Kriegies”, a word they had corrupted from the German term for prisoners of war – Kriegsgefangen. A consignment of Kriegies to or from a camp was a “Purge” and a “Purgee” was a member of such. “P-gen” was news received from a new Purge.
There were other phrases used in the prison camps, many being relevant only to local conditions or situations. One word common to them all was “Bash”, meaning a large meal (to some this term was taken to mean an act of overeating). In conveying an action, however, the verb “Bash” meant “to eat, to make, [or] to do”. In this way, a prisoner “Bashing the pit” was making his bed, whilst someone patrolling the wire was “Bashing the circuit”.
One can only wonder then if it was possible for a Kriegie to have a bash of glop only to find he had lots going gash?
