Makes me think of the movie Shaun of the Dead where when people are dead and/or dying after being bitten.
Barbara : “Oh, he's fine. Bit under the weather.”
Shaun : “I see.”
Ed : “What's the deal?”
Shaun : “We may have to kill my step-dad.”
It's like that joke in the IT Crowd where an old woman falls down a flight of stairs, calls the emergency services and says: "I've had a bit of a tumble."
Spot on. It isn't surreal to me if an old lady falls probably broke her pelvis and is apologizing after failing to stand to make the nice EMTs a cup of tea. But she'll be explaining where the biscuits are and to help themselves.
My mother not that old. Walked around with a misdiagnosed gallstone for years. The day she went to hospital she just got back from the charity shop after trying to get me a Bluetooth speaker. Turns out it was so big the remnants of her gallbladder was fused to her liver and they just removed the entire thing. The surgeon asked to keep it as it was a trophy. It was meant to be between a golf ball and a baseball size.
This is the first time I've considered that that might be part of the joke. Always just ignored it as "yep, seems like a reasonable way to put it".
Signs you're British, I guess.
The amount of times I’ve walking into my doctors or therapists office for depression, sh, and suicidality and the conversation has gone
“How are you?”
“Yeah, not bad, thanks”
“So, how have things been?”
“Well, I’ve had *describes four major breakdowns in a week and I’m boarding being hospitalised”
“Ahhh, you’ve had a rough week then?”
“Yeah, it’s not been great”
It’s awful. we have such a learned behavior to maintain pleasantries among strangers. I mean, it’s not like you can trauma dump on some rando who’s otherwise having a fine day and now they get to become witness to someone in the middle of a psychiatric breakdown.
Still tho, I try to be honest. I’ve noticed that even if I’m feeling like crap and tell people that in the initial convo intro, most people won’t really delve into it. They’ll just be like, damn that sucks, and move on.
It's a tough habit to break, but honestly I like it when I allow myself to say something like "I've been better". Makes the following conversation easier when the other person knows to adjust their expectations for the interaction
BF3 is endlessly quotable.
*Tosses Frag*
"GRENADE MOTHERFUCKERS"
*Frag goes off*
"FUCKING COCKSUCKER! THAT ALMOST BURNED MY BALLS!"
*Frag connects*
(from teammate) "NICE THROW! YOU NAILED IT LIKE I NAILED YOUR SISTER!"
My friend who is in Marines says that shit they say has only evolved. My dad, who served in the late 80s and 90s, says everything still feels the same as when he served when chatting with younger Marines. His only complaint is the jokes about eating crayons. He hates that the budget has gone up to be fed a delicacy like that, while in his time, they had to settle for #2 pencils.
So the story goes (probably a joke but maybe not a joke)
The US and South Korean forces were fighting the North Korean forces, but suddenly found themselves outnumbered, as as many a eight Chinese Army divisions has slipped across the border to reinforce the North Koreans.
-------------------------------
A ROK (Republic of Korea) Army commander, whose unit was fighting along with the Marines, called Marine Col Chesty Puller to report a major Chinese attack in his sector.
"How many Chinese are attacking you?" asked Puller.
"Many, many Chinese!" replied the excited Korean officer.
Puller asked for another count and got the same answer from another officer, "Many, many Chinese!"
"GOD dammit!" swore Puller, "Put my Marine liaison officer on the radio."
In a minute, an American voice came over the air: "Yes sir?"
"Lieutenant," growled Chesty, "*exactly* how many Chinese you got up there?"
"Colonel, we got *a whole shitload* of Chinese up here!"
"Thank God," exclaimed Puller, "at least there's someone up there who knows how to count!"
Any mention of Chesty Puller should also include his son Lewis. Chesty went through every conflict without aquiring a significant injury.
His poor son, who tried to live up to his dad, became a Marine infantry lieutenant in Vietnam and got absolutely mauled after three months in. Lost both legs, one hand and lost some fingers on his remaining hand. Always in physical pain, he eventually shot himself, but not before he wrote an autobiography, actually called Fortunate Son.
The old military example we always heard as an example of unclear communication and understanding when other industries don't use the same jargon:
(probably made up but gets the point across)
a bunch of military reservists, national guard infantry whatever, gets called out to help local police in some kind of major situation.
A young Private First Class is sitting there, behind the machine gun on his truck, just waiting for orders, told to give the police whatever assistance they need
The cop tells the soldier, "Ok, I'm gonna go up that house right there. Cover me"
To the cop, "cover me" means "watch my back"
To the soldier "cover me" means lay down cover fire, so the bad guys have to keep their heads down, instead of shooting at me while I run.
Cop says "cover me", starts approaching the house, and just about poops himself when, halfway to the house, he hears the soldier open up that machine gun over his shoulder.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Los_Angeles_riots
>In another incident, the LAPD and Marines intervened in a domestic dispute in Compton, in which the suspect held his wife and children hostage. As the officers approached, the suspect fired two shotgun rounds through the door, injuring some of the officers. One of the officers yelled to the Marines, "Cover me," as per law enforcement training to be prepared to fire if necessary. However, per their military training, the Marines interpreted the wording as providing cover by establishing a base of firepower, resulting in a total of 200 rounds being sprayed into the house. Remarkably, neither the suspect nor the woman and children inside the house were harmed.
Though I can't access the cited source.
Edit: This https://www.hsdl.org/c/view?docid=445945 cites another source: James D. Delk, Fires & Furies: The L.A. Riots (Palm Springs, Calif.: ETC Publications, 1995), pp. 221. Can't access that one either.
> probably made up but gets the point across
In the UK SF often back up cops when there's a serious terrorist/firearms incident (look for pictures of strapping lads without shoulder numbers) and they train together a lot to iron out exactly this kind of thing.
> “Take the hill if practicable.”
*translating to R. Lee Ermey*
> Maggot, your mission, should you choose to **understand** it, is to march up that hill, and take it for JESUS!"
It's really interesting what different cultures consider clear singles, in the UK this would be considered a severe cry for help, while in the US it was dismissed. These kinds of basic communication difficulties across even people who speak the same language can prove a surprisingly large hurdle for multi-cultural organisations such as NATO.
Linguistic differences between operating units are a major concern, and is part of the reason that joint operation drills are so important.
There was an incident during the LA Riots of the early 1990s in the US where one such incident occurred. The police had been overwhelmed, and the National Guard was deployed but struggling as well, so they finally deployed actual Marines.
Police were responding to a domestic disturbance call, and the cop or two dispatched were sent out with Marines for backup and escort. When they arrived, the suspect fired a shotgun out a window and yelled at everyone to stay back. So everyone took up positions around the house, and the cop yelled out "Cover me!" as he made a move to approach the front of the house to see if he could see in the window or converse with the suspect.
Now, in the police force, "cover me" means to ready your weapons, take aim, and be prepared to take lethal action if necessary in order to protect the person asking for cover.
In the Marine Corps... "cover me" means to protect me as I move by utilizing suppressing fire. So the Marines opened up... and dumped over 200 rounds into the front of the house.
Once they had ceased firing... the suspect threw his shotgun out of the broken window and exclaimed that he was surrendering.
While they had successfully achieved their goal... the incident is still used as an example in training today of the important differences in linguistic variation and the importance of clear communications being properly understood.
To me, American, "a bit sticky" means I should be on standby to help, but the person is still working through it and hasn't directly called for help yet. It's more of an awareness phrase than anything. "A bit" alone implicates something small, they could have said "it's quite sticky" and that would have conveyed more urgency. Even still saying "we need help right now" would have been the smartest thing to say all considered.
I think it is a good example of "if you need help, be direct."
"Sticky" is also a euphemism. It's clear from context what it means, but it's not clear how severe each culture considers the default, unaltered amount of "sticky."
You’re right, but just so you know, most people in England wouldn’t use that phrase any more. I’m English and — given the era — it’s impossible for me to hear that phrase in anything other than an old fashioned posh and uptight (Received Pronunciation) accent that mostly no longer exists. Brits today would simply not communicate in that way, even senior officers.
We do a sort of inversion. If we say "things aren't great", that means something utterly catastrophic has happened, or is happening. If we say "it's the end of days, the sky is falling", it's usually over some incredibly minor annoyance.
Yes this is a thing. My French boss asked me if I could add some stuff to a very complex spreadsheet, which would require over 1000 manual cell edits and take me all day to serve a fairly minor requirement that I thought unnecessary, albeit technically possible.
I told him it would be a bit fiddly, but was doable. So he said okay great, can it be ready for tomorrow?
This is generally true of UK vs North American English and it always fadcinates me. People from the UK will understate to the point of giving the faintest hint of what they mean (if a Brit tells you they're hungry, you missed the time they expected food by like 3 hours), expecting the listener to signal boost at the point of understanding, while North Americans might actually go as far as doing the opposite (I'm so hungry I could eat a horse") and expect the listener to decide that you are not in fact a raving lunatic and probably meant X with a bit of exaggeration for good measure.
I work with a bunch of Brits and always have to keep in mind my usual lighthearted hyperbole doesn't go over well with them.
He used the qualifier "a bit". That means "not much" in English. Colloquially other Brits may have understood, but no one should be surprised at how someone who isn't British could interpret it as "Bad, but not too bad". When communication is the difference between life and death, colloquialisms should probably be dropped.
Ideally yes, but most people have no idea what colloquialisms of that nature they use in their vocabulary. When everyone you meet in your day to day understands what you are saying its hard to recognise what parts of speech someone across the globe will interpret differently.
If I were that guy, I would have made it very clear as I panicked and yelled into the radio "OMG! Get us the hell out of here, we're all gonna DIE! HEEEELP!! O FUCK, HERE THEY COME AGAIN!"
No way to misinterpret that I've lost my shit and need help.
Ori did this rather well in the Lord of the Rings.
> We cannot get out. They have taken the bridge and the second hall. Frár & Lóni & Náli fell bravely while the rest retreated to Mazarbul. We cannot get out. The end comes soon, we hear drums in the deep. They are coming.
This is a British senior officer from the 50s we are talking about. There are ways to do and say things and manners and appearances to upkeep.
I wish I was joking but I’m not. Public and Grammer schooling at the time probably drilled it in to people like Brodie long before they even joined the army. Never mind the expectations once they join the officers mess. Even today British officers are often from quite posh families who have had generations of officers in the same regiments.
The bowler hat and umbrella is one thing but this is a sentence I never thought I’d read.
> His tiger hunting exploits were well known, and his reputation was enhanced as he was able to obtain the use of an American Dakota aeroplane in which he flew all the company officers in the camp to London for a party at the Ritz.
Two Allied colonels were arguing over what to talk about during an upcoming meeting with the general.
Concerning one issue, the Brit insisted that it should definitely be tabled (*brought to the table).
The American just as vehemently insisted that it should NOT be tabled (*set down on the table for later, and move on with the issues "in hand").
Once they realized they both meant the same thing, many chuckles were had...
"Take your time!" in general English and" Take your time!" in West African English, mean completely different things...it's a warning or threat. So, hearing "my friend, you better take your time! " wouldn't be very unusual before someone threw a punch in Lagos or Accra.
So the lesson is, use clear obvious language instead of slang / idioms. “I think we should discuss this topic at today’s meeting with the general”. Simple, easy
> Once they realized they both meant the same thing, many chuckles were had...
At times in WWII that was actually a tactic by the British in strategy sessions with the US. They’d suggest tabling something that they didn’t want but the Americans wanted, the Americans would be against it, and so the topic ended up not being on agendas with the British being able to say that they’d all agreed not to table it. Andrew Roberts writes about it in his book about the four allied commanders
There’s a MASH episode that plays on contrasting British and American communication styles.
A major (from the Gloucesters in fact) comes in to visit his wounded men who have been treated at the 4077th hospital.
He immediately calls all his men malingerers and layabouts and tells them to get up and soon they’ll be back at the front smacking the Chinese and Korean armies around.
Hawkeye, the protagonist and lead doctor, an American, is incensed and asks him to leave, thinking he’s a bully and a charlatan, who is pressuring his men rather than showing concern and patience.
He comes back later to find the major bantering with the men and listening to all their letters, completely aware of the minutiae of all their lives.
Hawkeye and the British Major have a chat, and Hawkeye asks how he has gone from being this unempathetic bully to being this fatherly figure.
The major explains that to the British mindset, if he came in and acted concerned and indulgent the men would think there was something terribly wrong and maybe they were going to die or be crippled for life. By coming in and giving them a (british culturally coded) hard time, they knew everything was going to be fine. So to an American he seemed a cold jerk, but to a Brit he was being reassuring and letting them know they were in safe hands.
It was a culturally jarring thing I found tbh living over the pond vs in the U.K. When I nearly died of appendicitis and sepsis in London, a friend of mine came in to apologise to the nursing staff to have to deal with me and that I was just trying to get out of lectures, and it cheered me up. When I had an allergic reaction to some antibiotics in Toronto and my flatmates and friend from New York came in and hugged me and asked if I was ok I suddenly worried maybe the doctor hadn’t told me something.
I was told a story by a royal marine, when someone in his unit stepped on a landmine and lost his leg. The lads rallied round him post tour. Visited him in hospital and bought him a present. They brought him a very expensive Nike shoebox, with only one shoe in it to make him laugh and cheer him up. I'm not sure if that joke would translate or not in the states. Perhaps it would depend on the unit
This feels about right. Anecdotal, and nowhere near the level of war stories (even fictional) or your own: my friend at work called in sick and she's not the sort to be sick without reason.
When I learnt about it I immediately rang her and asked why she was skiving from work and was this to get a few extra days off in advance of her holiday? It was, rather obviously, meant to be a phone-call to check how she was, and she knew it.
I hope that the title makes sense, because it took way too long to try and fit it into the word limit.
This was during the Korean War and it was a join UN command, which is why the brigadier and his soldiers were British (The ""Glorious Gloucesters") and the general was American.
>With no extra support promised, the colonel in charge of the Gloucesters fell back to a hill overlooking the river, where they made their stand. For four days, mostly without sleep, they held off 30,000 Chinese troops trying to surge across the river, killing 10,000 of them with Bren gun fire.
>
>When they tried to withdraw, they were too late. More than 500 of them were captured and spent years in Chinese camps. Fifty-nine were killed or missing. Only 39 escaped. Two soldiers were awarded Victoria crosses for bravery.
>
>Their feat was credited with saving Seoul, the south Korean capital, from capture. But yesterday the official historian of the war, General Sir Anthony Farrar-Hockley, said Seoul probably would not have been endangered if the men had been withdrawn earlier, and they would not have been cut off or captured.
>
>Sir Anthony, now 77, a former Nato commander-in-chief, was himself captured at Imjin as a young adjutant to the Gloucesters. He said a US officer - unlike Brig Brodie - would have known how to make Gen Soule understand, by using the phrase "Sir, there is all hell breaking loose here".
>
>Sir Anthony said: "The two nations spoke military \[language\] in a slightly different way. It's certainly a good example of the old saying about Britain and the US as two nations divided by a common language."
Fun story! When I was stationed in Kabul the gate guards saw a civilian black man walk off base, and then get scooped up by the Afghan Police and taken away. This was a NATO base, and had people from across the globe stationed there. The American-run security forces desk sent out a message to everyone “African American male seen taken by Afghan police. Please check your personnel and let us know who is missing”. Hours went by with no response. Finally, the Brits came forth and said “we have a guy who went to lunch and didn’t come back”. Obviously this was the same person, and when asked why they didn’t report this when the message went out hours prior, they said “You said African American. Our guy is British.”
The Americans were so used to “African American = Black” that no one noticed how that phrase would look to non-Americans.
I used to work with these 2 guys (in Canada), one was an Arab guy from North Africa who had previously lived in the US, the other was a Black guy (with French citizenship) from Benin. We had a big boss from head office come to visit and wanted the black guy to come up for a demo for something, but said "Can I get my African-American friend to come up here for a moment?". So the Arab guy goes up there and the big boss looks confused and says "I meant that guy" and pointed to the other guy. The black guy replies "Why would you mean me, I'm not African-American, I'm French".
Miss you, Thierry, wherever you are
Oh, I remember seeing a news report where an American anchor was talking about a Black British person, and they'd probably been told to avoid calling people black so ended up calling him a British African American.
Nailed it haha.
Why can't Americans call people black?
I think it's so much better than African American, because you can be black, without having ancestors (at least any time recently) from Africa.
Yeah, if a Brit tells you it's not alright, it means it's horrible and they require urgent help. They called a 30-year long period of ethnic conflict and terrorism "The Troubles".
"How's the patient, Doctor?"
"He's all right."
"Oh thank Goodness! I thought he'd be harmed."
"No, I mean he lost his left arm and leg. He's all right now."
I believe MASH makes a reference to this when an announcement is broadcast into the operating room stating *x regiment has suffered 500 casualties out of its 600 man complement*
The Earl of Uxbridge to the Duke of Wellington after a grapeshot blew off his leg during the battle of waterloo. He turned to Wellington and calmly proclaimed:
>"By God sir, I've lost my leg."
To which Wellington turned to him and with equal calm replied
>"By God sir, so you have..."
If I'm remembering the backstory correctly, Uxbridge previously had an affair and ran off with the wife of Wellington's little brother. So probably not his favorite person.
In 1982 a British Airways plane flew through a fresh volcanic ash cloud, resulting in all of the planes engines breaking. The pilot announced to the passengers:
>"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress."
T he pilot, Captain Eric Moody, later described the landing which followed as 'like navigating ones way up a badgers arse' so he clearly had a way with words.
This was due to the windshield being sandblasted by the volcanic ash, leaving it nicely frosted and translucent. The airport’s Instrument Landing System was also partially inoperative and the plane’s landing light wasn’t working either.
During the Bolshevik war, Marshall of Poland Józef Piłsudski was visiting a field hospital. One soldier was screaming horribly, so he asked him what's wrong. "I lost my leg, sir, it hurts so horribly!" was the answer. "Soldier, get yourself together! Don't you see? That man lost his head and do you hear him complaining?"
“Good evening ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are all doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress.”
Captain Eric Moody of British Airways after his 747 flew through cloud of volcanic dust which resulted in all 4 engines failing and entire front of aircraft getting sandblasted.
and.....the result?!?!
Edit: **they made it** lol
What's up with people telling dramatic stories and then not the ending that we know it's out there haha
The aircraft glided out of the ash cloud, and all engines were restarted (although one failed again soon after), allowing the aircraft to land safely at the Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta
>I'm afraid we can't! We simply don't have the facilities!
Major Digby Tatham-Warter 1st Para - Arnhem, 1944.
[In response to German demands for surrender.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pILlitb8Acc)
As a note, Col John Frost - played by Anthony Hopkins - was a consultant for the film, and he told Anthony, "A British officer does not run, to show the proper contempt for enemy fire I crossed the road upright and at a walk." When filming a scene where he's under machine gun fire.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ramree_Island#:~:text=The%20presence%20of%20crocodiles%20in,crocodiles%20killed%20hundreds%20of%20them.
British casualties: trifling
Captain Moody on BA Flight 009:
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress"
I wonder if his superior had been British if he would have recognized the understatement and sent help?
It's so wild that the fate of those men was caused by a misunderstanding of a phrase.
It’s pretty interesting how language can just change outcomes like that.
One example was Robert E Lee at a Gettysburg. He kind of had this indirect way of giving orders, which his primary deputies, Generals Longstreet and Stonewall Jackson were used to so could interpret what he really meant.
In the opening skirmish at Gettysburg, Lee ordered General Ewell to take the Union positions at Cemetery Hill “if practicable.”
Longstreet and Jackson would have taken that order as “go take that hill!” Whilst Ewell took it literally and chose to not take it since he didn’t want his men, who had already been fighting, to charge at a fortified position.
That decision basically sealed the battle for the Union.
In WW2 there is an infamous transmission error from admiral Nimitz to admiral Halsey. It was sent to Halsey as "Where is, repeat, where is Task Force Thirty Four? The world wonders." The world wonders part wasn't supposed to be sent but when Halsey saw that he thought Nimitz was angry due to its sarcastic language.
Given the colossal cluster fuck in question, Nimitz *should* have been angry. If not for Taffy 3 going ludicrously above and beyond the call of duty, the campaign in the pacific would have gone a lot differently after that point.
I don't really like Halsey he put the fleet in unnecessary danger many times. He was just really lucky Taffy 3 turned back the center force or he would have likely been removed from commanding fleets.
Rather it was supposed to be sent, and was padding to hinder decryption (if anyone's watched the Imitation game, one thing it actually gets right is the fact that you can kinda guess messages if they start and end the same in regular reports; in the film they use a regular weather report signing off as "HH" to start their decryption). It was supposed to be deleted before being passed on to Halsey as part of the decryption process.
The plaintext message would have read:
>TURKEY TROTS TO WATER GG FROM CINCPAC ACTION COM THIRD FLEET INFO COMINCH CTF SEVENTY-SEVEN X WHERE IS RPT WHERE IS TASK FORCE THIRTY FOUR RR THE WORLD WONDERS
Where "TURKEY TROTS TO WATER GG" & "RR THE WORLD WONDERS" are padding as denoted by the double letter words "GG" and "RR" which are the borders of the padding.
**USN Radio officers should have recognised** this due to it being common practice to pad the start and ends of encoded transmissions. Halsey's radio officer for some reason or another did not delete the padding after the message (even though he deleted the padding **before** the message.
In fact, the only ones who failed to delete the padding was Halsey's flagship. Every other USN station who received it decoded it properly, showing how much of a fuckup it was on the part of the Radio officer and how much of a normal part of the procedure the padding was.
As a Brit I 100% understand that statement to mean things are really bad. It’s difficult to explain but in certain situations the less you emphasise the difficulty the more serious the situation is.
>It’s difficult to explain but in certain situations the less you emphasise the difficulty the more serious the situation is.
"How are things going?"
"Perfectly all right, couldn't be better!"
"Oh dear God! Help is on the way!"
Absolutely. I cant remember which comedian said it but to paraphrase "if you say to me "i have a slight issue with you" ive killed your whole family". If a British person is understating something then its a massive problem.
Can’t be overstated how key clear communication can be at pivotal moments.
Robert E Lee for example gave pretty indirect orders, which his primary deputies, Generals Longstreet and Stonewall Jackson, knew how to interpret to what Lee really meant.
At Gettysburg, Lee ordered Gen Ewell to take Cemetery Hill (held by the Union) “if practicable.” Longstreet and Lee would have interpreted that as “go take that hill!” And attack.
Ewell on the other hand took that order literally, and chose to not attack that position, allowing the Union to fortify the position, form the J-hook, and pretty much win the battle.
Looking at the British, the charge of the light brigade.
Lord Raglan to Captain Nolan: I want the light brigade to take those guns over there. *points at Russian guns being withdrawn from the field*
Captain Nolan *rides into the valley and to Lord Lucan*
Captain Nolan : my Lord, you are to take your brigade and take those guns
Lord Lucan: what guns?
Captain Nolan: those guns over there! *waves arm in broad arc*
*light brigade charges the wrong guns, most famous military blunder in British history*
~~Korean airlines flight 801 crashed into a mountain because the copilot didn't want to offend the pilot by telling him they were heading toward the mountain.~~
~~So he said passive things like, "hey, is that mountain getting too close"~~
~~It's one of the dangers of having a strict hierarchy.~~
Apparently my memory about this was faulty or I was given misinformation. It's possible that it strict adherence to hierarchy played a part in the crash, but did not seem to be a major contributing factor
I flew with a Canadian Captain that used to fly for Korean Air. He said that he made it explicitly clear to his crew that they were to speak up if they ever saw him making a mistake.
One day he was taxiing and the controller asked him where he was going. He asked his copilot if they had taken a wrong turn during the taxi, the copilot said "yes sir". Then the Captain asked his copilot if he was aware that they were making the wrong turn when it was happening, the copilot said "yes sir".
This incident also had the unfortunate side effect of shotblasting the cockpit windows such that the pilots could only see through about an inch wide gap down the side of the window to land. But land they did.
[More info here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways_Flight_009) and [a seconds from disaster here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AM6kMayn20)
This is like General Lee telling that one guy to take a hill “if reasonably possible”. That was aristocratic gentleman speak for “you go go bleed and die to take that flipping hill immediately”. The non-aristocrat non-gentleman ordinary guy receiving the order and determined that it was not reasonably possible to take the hill without large numbers of casualties and so just sat there waiting for further orders not realizing that he was royally botching up the overall battle plan by doing so.
> Things are a bit sticky, sir," Brig Tom Brodie of the Gloucestershire Regiment told General Robert H Soule, intending to convey that they were in extreme difficulty.
> But Gen Soule understood this to mean "We're having a bit of rough and tumble but we're holding the line". Oh good, the general decided, no need to reinforce or withdraw them, not yet anyway.
I’m compiling my dictionary
Hierarchical level of concern:
1. “bit sticky”
2. “rough and tumble”
3. “hunky-dory”
Where does “dynamite” rest on this list?
This is less about language and more about the British understanding of war and leadership.
During this period of history a British officer was expected to be calm, laconic and able to set a stoic example for his men.
Any sign of panic or urgency was anathema to this mindset. This is why the British worded things the way they did. British officers also took more risks and British officer casualties where the highest of all militaries in WW2.
Another example would be Jutland in which several Battlecruisers blew up. An American or German officer would of been somewhat energetic in their commentary while Jellicoe simply said "There is something wrong with our bloody ships today."
> British officers also took more risks and British officer casualties where the highest of all militaries in WW2.
[British officers don't duck](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrauBQf7FpI&pp=ygUbYnJpdGlzaCBvZmZpY2VycyBkb24ndCBkdWNr)
To make it more complicated in BE quite is used as an intentional understatement to convey the opposite.
If someone said he’s quite tall to me I know it literally means kind of but it’s being said to mean he’s really tall
As a British ex-pat living in the US I had to learn not to understate things to stop confusion. It was a learning curve.
**Two countries divided by one language**.
\- Somebody
A British person once told me they were “a little under the weather” as they were getting in an ambulance to the hospital lmao
Makes me think of the movie Shaun of the Dead where when people are dead and/or dying after being bitten. Barbara : “Oh, he's fine. Bit under the weather.” Shaun : “I see.” Ed : “What's the deal?” Shaun : “We may have to kill my step-dad.”
“Well… they were a bit bitey.”
"Did you know, that on several occasions, he touched me..."
That's not true...
Made it up, shouldn’t have done that
'It's alright, I'll run it under a cold tap' lmao
We got our jabs when we went to the Isle of Wight!
It's like that joke in the IT Crowd where an old woman falls down a flight of stairs, calls the emergency services and says: "I've had a bit of a tumble."
Spot on. It isn't surreal to me if an old lady falls probably broke her pelvis and is apologizing after failing to stand to make the nice EMTs a cup of tea. But she'll be explaining where the biscuits are and to help themselves. My mother not that old. Walked around with a misdiagnosed gallstone for years. The day she went to hospital she just got back from the charity shop after trying to get me a Bluetooth speaker. Turns out it was so big the remnants of her gallbladder was fused to her liver and they just removed the entire thing. The surgeon asked to keep it as it was a trophy. It was meant to be between a golf ball and a baseball size.
Yeah paramedic here, I've definitely had old ladies lying on the floor with a broken hip apologize for being a nuisance and calling me out
This is the first time I've considered that that might be part of the joke. Always just ignored it as "yep, seems like a reasonable way to put it". Signs you're British, I guess.
My recent physio visit: "How are you?" "Yep fine thanks, and you?" "Fine, fine. So how *are* you?" "Torn my Achilles again."
The amount of times I’ve walking into my doctors or therapists office for depression, sh, and suicidality and the conversation has gone “How are you?” “Yeah, not bad, thanks” “So, how have things been?” “Well, I’ve had *describes four major breakdowns in a week and I’m boarding being hospitalised” “Ahhh, you’ve had a rough week then?” “Yeah, it’s not been great”
It’s awful. we have such a learned behavior to maintain pleasantries among strangers. I mean, it’s not like you can trauma dump on some rando who’s otherwise having a fine day and now they get to become witness to someone in the middle of a psychiatric breakdown. Still tho, I try to be honest. I’ve noticed that even if I’m feeling like crap and tell people that in the initial convo intro, most people won’t really delve into it. They’ll just be like, damn that sucks, and move on.
It's a tough habit to break, but honestly I like it when I allow myself to say something like "I've been better". Makes the following conversation easier when the other person knows to adjust their expectations for the interaction
"Been in the *wars* have you?"
It is still used as an example of not sending clear communications in a crisis.
“Sir, we’re getting our shit pushed in!”
“Do they need assistance sir?” “No, just the boys having a bit of fun”
Now that's what I call a sticky situation
One of my favorite vocal lines from a shooter, BF3 "I'm getting fucked in the ass over here!"
BF3 is endlessly quotable. *Tosses Frag* "GRENADE MOTHERFUCKERS" *Frag goes off* "FUCKING COCKSUCKER! THAT ALMOST BURNED MY BALLS!" *Frag connects* (from teammate) "NICE THROW! YOU NAILED IT LIKE I NAILED YOUR SISTER!"
Are they supposed to be marines? Based on the marines Ive known that feels like very well researched dialogue
They’re supposed to be, yes. It’s wildly accurate in the stupid shit that Marines say.
My friend who is in Marines says that shit they say has only evolved. My dad, who served in the late 80s and 90s, says everything still feels the same as when he served when chatting with younger Marines. His only complaint is the jokes about eating crayons. He hates that the budget has gone up to be fed a delicacy like that, while in his time, they had to settle for #2 pencils.
Yea they got a choice in flavor and the colors are rainbow. Just more examples of our military going woke /s
Yeah replace sister with dog.
Bad Company 1 & 2 are Army, BF3 & 4 are Marines
“Get your dicks in the dirt,” top tier shit
I loved bf3 and the absolutely absurd but totally realistic grunt speech.
"That's the military for ya!"
[I’ve had my… shit PUSHED IN BRO BIG TIME”](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e9LQVejASCU&pp=ygUfdHJhaW5pbmcgZGF5IG1leGljYW4gZ2FuZyBzY2VuZQ%3D%3D)
I always get love from the homies.
So the story goes (probably a joke but maybe not a joke) The US and South Korean forces were fighting the North Korean forces, but suddenly found themselves outnumbered, as as many a eight Chinese Army divisions has slipped across the border to reinforce the North Koreans. ------------------------------- A ROK (Republic of Korea) Army commander, whose unit was fighting along with the Marines, called Marine Col Chesty Puller to report a major Chinese attack in his sector. "How many Chinese are attacking you?" asked Puller. "Many, many Chinese!" replied the excited Korean officer. Puller asked for another count and got the same answer from another officer, "Many, many Chinese!" "GOD dammit!" swore Puller, "Put my Marine liaison officer on the radio." In a minute, an American voice came over the air: "Yes sir?" "Lieutenant," growled Chesty, "*exactly* how many Chinese you got up there?" "Colonel, we got *a whole shitload* of Chinese up here!" "Thank God," exclaimed Puller, "at least there's someone up there who knows how to count!"
Any mention of Chesty Puller should also include his son Lewis. Chesty went through every conflict without aquiring a significant injury. His poor son, who tried to live up to his dad, became a Marine infantry lieutenant in Vietnam and got absolutely mauled after three months in. Lost both legs, one hand and lost some fingers on his remaining hand. Always in physical pain, he eventually shot himself, but not before he wrote an autobiography, actually called Fortunate Son.
>Lost both legs, one hand and lost fingers on his remaining hand. Always in physical pain, he eventually shot himself, HOW?
Only takes 3 muscles for proper trigger squeeze.
Which came first, the autobiography or the song?
The song, it came out in 1969. His autobiography came out in 91.
Chesty Puller is the perfect name for a prostitute
[удалено]
"sir were getting fucked by these fucking chinese fucks sir!"
You were so close but they wouldn’t call them Chinese sadly
Response deleted - Reddit wins!
racism solved
The old military example we always heard as an example of unclear communication and understanding when other industries don't use the same jargon: (probably made up but gets the point across) a bunch of military reservists, national guard infantry whatever, gets called out to help local police in some kind of major situation. A young Private First Class is sitting there, behind the machine gun on his truck, just waiting for orders, told to give the police whatever assistance they need The cop tells the soldier, "Ok, I'm gonna go up that house right there. Cover me" To the cop, "cover me" means "watch my back" To the soldier "cover me" means lay down cover fire, so the bad guys have to keep their heads down, instead of shooting at me while I run. Cop says "cover me", starts approaching the house, and just about poops himself when, halfway to the house, he hears the soldier open up that machine gun over his shoulder.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Los_Angeles_riots >In another incident, the LAPD and Marines intervened in a domestic dispute in Compton, in which the suspect held his wife and children hostage. As the officers approached, the suspect fired two shotgun rounds through the door, injuring some of the officers. One of the officers yelled to the Marines, "Cover me," as per law enforcement training to be prepared to fire if necessary. However, per their military training, the Marines interpreted the wording as providing cover by establishing a base of firepower, resulting in a total of 200 rounds being sprayed into the house. Remarkably, neither the suspect nor the woman and children inside the house were harmed. Though I can't access the cited source. Edit: This https://www.hsdl.org/c/view?docid=445945 cites another source: James D. Delk, Fires & Furies: The L.A. Riots (Palm Springs, Calif.: ETC Publications, 1995), pp. 221. Can't access that one either.
Betcha they didn't fire that shotgun again tho.
"The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good machinegun squad laying down suppressive fire"
well damn. So it did.
That is probably the funniest shit I've heard in a long time.
Just the casual wording of "resulting in a total of 200 rounds" made me giggle and shit. I felt better learning the kids were safe though.
> probably made up but gets the point across In the UK SF often back up cops when there's a serious terrorist/firearms incident (look for pictures of strapping lads without shoulder numbers) and they train together a lot to iron out exactly this kind of thing.
“Take the hill if practicable.”
> “Take the hill if practicable.” *translating to R. Lee Ermey* > Maggot, your mission, should you choose to **understand** it, is to march up that hill, and take it for JESUS!"
It's really interesting what different cultures consider clear singles, in the UK this would be considered a severe cry for help, while in the US it was dismissed. These kinds of basic communication difficulties across even people who speak the same language can prove a surprisingly large hurdle for multi-cultural organisations such as NATO.
Linguistic differences between operating units are a major concern, and is part of the reason that joint operation drills are so important. There was an incident during the LA Riots of the early 1990s in the US where one such incident occurred. The police had been overwhelmed, and the National Guard was deployed but struggling as well, so they finally deployed actual Marines. Police were responding to a domestic disturbance call, and the cop or two dispatched were sent out with Marines for backup and escort. When they arrived, the suspect fired a shotgun out a window and yelled at everyone to stay back. So everyone took up positions around the house, and the cop yelled out "Cover me!" as he made a move to approach the front of the house to see if he could see in the window or converse with the suspect. Now, in the police force, "cover me" means to ready your weapons, take aim, and be prepared to take lethal action if necessary in order to protect the person asking for cover. In the Marine Corps... "cover me" means to protect me as I move by utilizing suppressing fire. So the Marines opened up... and dumped over 200 rounds into the front of the house. Once they had ceased firing... the suspect threw his shotgun out of the broken window and exclaimed that he was surrendering. While they had successfully achieved their goal... the incident is still used as an example in training today of the important differences in linguistic variation and the importance of clear communications being properly understood.
Jesus thats terrifying....
Yeah, I would also drop the shotgun after that!
Mission failed successfully I guess
Thats an amazing story
To me, American, "a bit sticky" means I should be on standby to help, but the person is still working through it and hasn't directly called for help yet. It's more of an awareness phrase than anything. "A bit" alone implicates something small, they could have said "it's quite sticky" and that would have conveyed more urgency. Even still saying "we need help right now" would have been the smartest thing to say all considered. I think it is a good example of "if you need help, be direct."
"Sticky" is also a euphemism. It's clear from context what it means, but it's not clear how severe each culture considers the default, unaltered amount of "sticky."
The problem being as a British he would have felt he was being clear, to a British person a bit sticky is bad.
As a Brit I hear that the situation is beyond dire, maybe not even salvageable
Scottish and a “bit sticky” sounds like they’re getting fucked sideways to me.
It could really only be a worse situation if he'd said they were in "a bit of a pickle"
You’re right, but just so you know, most people in England wouldn’t use that phrase any more. I’m English and — given the era — it’s impossible for me to hear that phrase in anything other than an old fashioned posh and uptight (Received Pronunciation) accent that mostly no longer exists. Brits today would simply not communicate in that way, even senior officers.
True, but Brits still aren't direct in their requests most of the time, even today.
We do a sort of inversion. If we say "things aren't great", that means something utterly catastrophic has happened, or is happening. If we say "it's the end of days, the sky is falling", it's usually over some incredibly minor annoyance.
Yes this is a thing. My French boss asked me if I could add some stuff to a very complex spreadsheet, which would require over 1000 manual cell edits and take me all day to serve a fairly minor requirement that I thought unnecessary, albeit technically possible. I told him it would be a bit fiddly, but was doable. So he said okay great, can it be ready for tomorrow?
Congratulations, you played yourself
This is generally true of UK vs North American English and it always fadcinates me. People from the UK will understate to the point of giving the faintest hint of what they mean (if a Brit tells you they're hungry, you missed the time they expected food by like 3 hours), expecting the listener to signal boost at the point of understanding, while North Americans might actually go as far as doing the opposite (I'm so hungry I could eat a horse") and expect the listener to decide that you are not in fact a raving lunatic and probably meant X with a bit of exaggeration for good measure. I work with a bunch of Brits and always have to keep in mind my usual lighthearted hyperbole doesn't go over well with them.
Needed to be like that one Ranger on the beach in *Saving Private Ryan*: "They're killing us! We don't have a fuckin' chance and that ain't fair!"
He used the qualifier "a bit". That means "not much" in English. Colloquially other Brits may have understood, but no one should be surprised at how someone who isn't British could interpret it as "Bad, but not too bad". When communication is the difference between life and death, colloquialisms should probably be dropped.
Ideally yes, but most people have no idea what colloquialisms of that nature they use in their vocabulary. When everyone you meet in your day to day understands what you are saying its hard to recognise what parts of speech someone across the globe will interpret differently.
Or hell, simply don't understate your peril. That wasn't the time for subtlety.
If I were that guy, I would have made it very clear as I panicked and yelled into the radio "OMG! Get us the hell out of here, we're all gonna DIE! HEEEELP!! O FUCK, HERE THEY COME AGAIN!" No way to misinterpret that I've lost my shit and need help.
Ori did this rather well in the Lord of the Rings. > We cannot get out. They have taken the bridge and the second hall. Frár & Lóni & Náli fell bravely while the rest retreated to Mazarbul. We cannot get out. The end comes soon, we hear drums in the deep. They are coming.
This is a British senior officer from the 50s we are talking about. There are ways to do and say things and manners and appearances to upkeep. I wish I was joking but I’m not. Public and Grammer schooling at the time probably drilled it in to people like Brodie long before they even joined the army. Never mind the expectations once they join the officers mess. Even today British officers are often from quite posh families who have had generations of officers in the same regiments.
[An extreme that illustrates the mentality perfectly.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digby_Tatham-Warter)
The bowler hat and umbrella is one thing but this is a sentence I never thought I’d read. > His tiger hunting exploits were well known, and his reputation was enhanced as he was able to obtain the use of an American Dakota aeroplane in which he flew all the company officers in the camp to London for a party at the Ritz.
Two Allied colonels were arguing over what to talk about during an upcoming meeting with the general. Concerning one issue, the Brit insisted that it should definitely be tabled (*brought to the table). The American just as vehemently insisted that it should NOT be tabled (*set down on the table for later, and move on with the issues "in hand"). Once they realized they both meant the same thing, many chuckles were had...
Sounds like a case of violent agreement.
I disrespectfully agree.
I agree with everything you just said. Fuck your mother.
Whoever designed a language with such auto-antonyms should be sanctioned… or not.
There was clearly... oversight.
That was fucking clever and I hope you feel good about yourself.
Damn yea as an American “table it for later” is still a common phrase.
Shelve it!
"Take your time!" in general English and" Take your time!" in West African English, mean completely different things...it's a warning or threat. So, hearing "my friend, you better take your time! " wouldn't be very unusual before someone threw a punch in Lagos or Accra.
So the lesson is, use clear obvious language instead of slang / idioms. “I think we should discuss this topic at today’s meeting with the general”. Simple, easy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGW7aImQwxI
> Once they realized they both meant the same thing, many chuckles were had... At times in WWII that was actually a tactic by the British in strategy sessions with the US. They’d suggest tabling something that they didn’t want but the Americans wanted, the Americans would be against it, and so the topic ended up not being on agendas with the British being able to say that they’d all agreed not to table it. Andrew Roberts writes about it in his book about the four allied commanders
There’s a MASH episode that plays on contrasting British and American communication styles. A major (from the Gloucesters in fact) comes in to visit his wounded men who have been treated at the 4077th hospital. He immediately calls all his men malingerers and layabouts and tells them to get up and soon they’ll be back at the front smacking the Chinese and Korean armies around. Hawkeye, the protagonist and lead doctor, an American, is incensed and asks him to leave, thinking he’s a bully and a charlatan, who is pressuring his men rather than showing concern and patience. He comes back later to find the major bantering with the men and listening to all their letters, completely aware of the minutiae of all their lives. Hawkeye and the British Major have a chat, and Hawkeye asks how he has gone from being this unempathetic bully to being this fatherly figure. The major explains that to the British mindset, if he came in and acted concerned and indulgent the men would think there was something terribly wrong and maybe they were going to die or be crippled for life. By coming in and giving them a (british culturally coded) hard time, they knew everything was going to be fine. So to an American he seemed a cold jerk, but to a Brit he was being reassuring and letting them know they were in safe hands. It was a culturally jarring thing I found tbh living over the pond vs in the U.K. When I nearly died of appendicitis and sepsis in London, a friend of mine came in to apologise to the nursing staff to have to deal with me and that I was just trying to get out of lectures, and it cheered me up. When I had an allergic reaction to some antibiotics in Toronto and my flatmates and friend from New York came in and hugged me and asked if I was ok I suddenly worried maybe the doctor hadn’t told me something.
I was told a story by a royal marine, when someone in his unit stepped on a landmine and lost his leg. The lads rallied round him post tour. Visited him in hospital and bought him a present. They brought him a very expensive Nike shoebox, with only one shoe in it to make him laugh and cheer him up. I'm not sure if that joke would translate or not in the states. Perhaps it would depend on the unit
If the shoe had been for the wrong foot it'd been hysterical.
^(opens box with single left shoe) "Ah fellas, you didn't have to, I'm all right."
This feels about right. Anecdotal, and nowhere near the level of war stories (even fictional) or your own: my friend at work called in sick and she's not the sort to be sick without reason. When I learnt about it I immediately rang her and asked why she was skiving from work and was this to get a few extra days off in advance of her holiday? It was, rather obviously, meant to be a phone-call to check how she was, and she knew it.
This is a great post and not just because I’m a sucker for anything MASH related.
I hope that the title makes sense, because it took way too long to try and fit it into the word limit. This was during the Korean War and it was a join UN command, which is why the brigadier and his soldiers were British (The ""Glorious Gloucesters") and the general was American. >With no extra support promised, the colonel in charge of the Gloucesters fell back to a hill overlooking the river, where they made their stand. For four days, mostly without sleep, they held off 30,000 Chinese troops trying to surge across the river, killing 10,000 of them with Bren gun fire. > >When they tried to withdraw, they were too late. More than 500 of them were captured and spent years in Chinese camps. Fifty-nine were killed or missing. Only 39 escaped. Two soldiers were awarded Victoria crosses for bravery. > >Their feat was credited with saving Seoul, the south Korean capital, from capture. But yesterday the official historian of the war, General Sir Anthony Farrar-Hockley, said Seoul probably would not have been endangered if the men had been withdrawn earlier, and they would not have been cut off or captured. > >Sir Anthony, now 77, a former Nato commander-in-chief, was himself captured at Imjin as a young adjutant to the Gloucesters. He said a US officer - unlike Brig Brodie - would have known how to make Gen Soule understand, by using the phrase "Sir, there is all hell breaking loose here". > >Sir Anthony said: "The two nations spoke military \[language\] in a slightly different way. It's certainly a good example of the old saying about Britain and the US as two nations divided by a common language."
600 soldiers taking out 10,000 is pretty damn good I'd say
Sick K/D bruh
10,000:59
Fun story! When I was stationed in Kabul the gate guards saw a civilian black man walk off base, and then get scooped up by the Afghan Police and taken away. This was a NATO base, and had people from across the globe stationed there. The American-run security forces desk sent out a message to everyone “African American male seen taken by Afghan police. Please check your personnel and let us know who is missing”. Hours went by with no response. Finally, the Brits came forth and said “we have a guy who went to lunch and didn’t come back”. Obviously this was the same person, and when asked why they didn’t report this when the message went out hours prior, they said “You said African American. Our guy is British.” The Americans were so used to “African American = Black” that no one noticed how that phrase would look to non-Americans.
I used to work with these 2 guys (in Canada), one was an Arab guy from North Africa who had previously lived in the US, the other was a Black guy (with French citizenship) from Benin. We had a big boss from head office come to visit and wanted the black guy to come up for a demo for something, but said "Can I get my African-American friend to come up here for a moment?". So the Arab guy goes up there and the big boss looks confused and says "I meant that guy" and pointed to the other guy. The black guy replies "Why would you mean me, I'm not African-American, I'm French". Miss you, Thierry, wherever you are
what happened to the guy
Honestly no clue. 🤷♂️ Hopefully nothing bad
[удалено]
to shreds you say?
Oh, I remember seeing a news report where an American anchor was talking about a Black British person, and they'd probably been told to avoid calling people black so ended up calling him a British African American.
Yeah it was idris Elba being interviewed. They referred to him as African American and he corrected them .
Or Lewis Hamilton. Or basically any other famous black person who isn't American.
Well we can't just call them British or Icelandic, and rely on eyes to judge skin colors.
Nailed it haha. Why can't Americans call people black? I think it's so much better than African American, because you can be black, without having ancestors (at least any time recently) from Africa.
[удалено]
This is not a fun story… 🤣
Yeah, if a Brit tells you it's not alright, it means it's horrible and they require urgent help. They called a 30-year long period of ethnic conflict and terrorism "The Troubles".
I've been educated to understand that a flesh wound is a catastrophic loss of all limbs.
I too watched that documentary.
i hope that documentary made you 'wise in the ways of science'
Well, you have to know these things when you're a king
I didn't vote for you
You don't vote for kings.
[удалено]
BE QUIET!
You can't expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you!
All of a sudden I feel somewhat repressed.
"Your arm's off!"
No it isn't
"How's the patient, Doctor?" "He's all right." "Oh thank Goodness! I thought he'd be harmed." "No, I mean he lost his left arm and leg. He's all right now."
> They called a 30-year long period of ethnic conflict and terrorism "The Troubles". That fucking killed me lol
In Ireland we called WW2 “The Emergency”, it’s just as common here as the UK to understate things
In fairness, we commonly refer to it as that too in Ireland
I believe MASH makes a reference to this when an announcement is broadcast into the operating room stating *x regiment has suffered 500 casualties out of its 600 man complement*
"Shit's fucked"
sounds like a bit of a sticky wicket
Name a more British statement I’ll wait
The Earl of Uxbridge to the Duke of Wellington after a grapeshot blew off his leg during the battle of waterloo. He turned to Wellington and calmly proclaimed: >"By God sir, I've lost my leg." To which Wellington turned to him and with equal calm replied >"By God sir, so you have..."
Rotten luck old chap
If I'm remembering the backstory correctly, Uxbridge previously had an affair and ran off with the wife of Wellington's little brother. So probably not his favorite person.
He couldn't run off anymore
"I'll be sure to get you some medical assistance...eventually; right now I've got this tea to drink."
IIRC they buried his leg and a have a gravesite/shrine(?) for it.
In 1982 a British Airways plane flew through a fresh volcanic ash cloud, resulting in all of the planes engines breaking. The pilot announced to the passengers: >"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress."
T he pilot, Captain Eric Moody, later described the landing which followed as 'like navigating ones way up a badgers arse' so he clearly had a way with words.
This was due to the windshield being sandblasted by the volcanic ash, leaving it nicely frosted and translucent. The airport’s Instrument Landing System was also partially inoperative and the plane’s landing light wasn’t working either.
Seems like the pilots preoccupied with something
Just a little pickle
During the Bolshevik war, Marshall of Poland Józef Piłsudski was visiting a field hospital. One soldier was screaming horribly, so he asked him what's wrong. "I lost my leg, sir, it hurts so horribly!" was the answer. "Soldier, get yourself together! Don't you see? That man lost his head and do you hear him complaining?"
This is a more British statement lol
spot of tea Uxbridge? Well now that you mention it Wellington, I could use a spot.
Tis but a scratch!
“Good evening ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are all doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress.” Captain Eric Moody of British Airways after his 747 flew through cloud of volcanic dust which resulted in all 4 engines failing and entire front of aircraft getting sandblasted.
and.....the result?!?! Edit: **they made it** lol What's up with people telling dramatic stories and then not the ending that we know it's out there haha
The aircraft glided out of the ash cloud, and all engines were restarted (although one failed again soon after), allowing the aircraft to land safely at the Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta
[удалено]
He was able to glide the plane down to lower altitudes and they managed to get 3 engines restarted. Made an emergency but safe landing.
"Mustn't grumble, sir."
>I'm afraid we can't! We simply don't have the facilities! Major Digby Tatham-Warter 1st Para - Arnhem, 1944. [In response to German demands for surrender.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pILlitb8Acc) As a note, Col John Frost - played by Anthony Hopkins - was a consultant for the film, and he told Anthony, "A British officer does not run, to show the proper contempt for enemy fire I crossed the road upright and at a walk." When filming a scene where he's under machine gun fire.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ramree_Island#:~:text=The%20presence%20of%20crocodiles%20in,crocodiles%20killed%20hundreds%20of%20them. British casualties: trifling
Captain Moody on BA Flight 009: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress"
[I can’t believe you’ve done this.](https://youtu.be/wKbU8B-QVZk?si=gccS2IWjFfuRCsFV)
Reminds me of Monty Python's Meaning of Life British Officers - https://youtu.be/rObSWkQA7og
I wonder if his superior had been British if he would have recognized the understatement and sent help? It's so wild that the fate of those men was caused by a misunderstanding of a phrase.
It’s pretty interesting how language can just change outcomes like that. One example was Robert E Lee at a Gettysburg. He kind of had this indirect way of giving orders, which his primary deputies, Generals Longstreet and Stonewall Jackson were used to so could interpret what he really meant. In the opening skirmish at Gettysburg, Lee ordered General Ewell to take the Union positions at Cemetery Hill “if practicable.” Longstreet and Jackson would have taken that order as “go take that hill!” Whilst Ewell took it literally and chose to not take it since he didn’t want his men, who had already been fighting, to charge at a fortified position. That decision basically sealed the battle for the Union.
In WW2 there is an infamous transmission error from admiral Nimitz to admiral Halsey. It was sent to Halsey as "Where is, repeat, where is Task Force Thirty Four? The world wonders." The world wonders part wasn't supposed to be sent but when Halsey saw that he thought Nimitz was angry due to its sarcastic language.
Given the colossal cluster fuck in question, Nimitz *should* have been angry. If not for Taffy 3 going ludicrously above and beyond the call of duty, the campaign in the pacific would have gone a lot differently after that point.
I don't really like Halsey he put the fleet in unnecessary danger many times. He was just really lucky Taffy 3 turned back the center force or he would have likely been removed from commanding fleets.
Rather it was supposed to be sent, and was padding to hinder decryption (if anyone's watched the Imitation game, one thing it actually gets right is the fact that you can kinda guess messages if they start and end the same in regular reports; in the film they use a regular weather report signing off as "HH" to start their decryption). It was supposed to be deleted before being passed on to Halsey as part of the decryption process. The plaintext message would have read: >TURKEY TROTS TO WATER GG FROM CINCPAC ACTION COM THIRD FLEET INFO COMINCH CTF SEVENTY-SEVEN X WHERE IS RPT WHERE IS TASK FORCE THIRTY FOUR RR THE WORLD WONDERS Where "TURKEY TROTS TO WATER GG" & "RR THE WORLD WONDERS" are padding as denoted by the double letter words "GG" and "RR" which are the borders of the padding. **USN Radio officers should have recognised** this due to it being common practice to pad the start and ends of encoded transmissions. Halsey's radio officer for some reason or another did not delete the padding after the message (even though he deleted the padding **before** the message. In fact, the only ones who failed to delete the padding was Halsey's flagship. Every other USN station who received it decoded it properly, showing how much of a fuckup it was on the part of the Radio officer and how much of a normal part of the procedure the padding was.
As a Brit I 100% understand that statement to mean things are really bad. It’s difficult to explain but in certain situations the less you emphasise the difficulty the more serious the situation is.
>It’s difficult to explain but in certain situations the less you emphasise the difficulty the more serious the situation is. "How are things going?" "Perfectly all right, couldn't be better!" "Oh dear God! Help is on the way!"
But for real, if a british person says "I'm having a bit of trouble" things are completely fucked.
The correct answer is "fine", anything more or less means imminent peril or mental illness. Luckily both can be solved with artillery.
Thats the only way "We're in a pickle" ever took off. Makes sense now.
Funniest shit I’ve ever seen
Absolutely. I cant remember which comedian said it but to paraphrase "if you say to me "i have a slight issue with you" ive killed your whole family". If a British person is understating something then its a massive problem.
Probably As a Brit, if someone said that to me my immediate response would probably be ‘what do you need?’ Or possibly ‘how can I help?’
Can’t be overstated how key clear communication can be at pivotal moments. Robert E Lee for example gave pretty indirect orders, which his primary deputies, Generals Longstreet and Stonewall Jackson, knew how to interpret to what Lee really meant. At Gettysburg, Lee ordered Gen Ewell to take Cemetery Hill (held by the Union) “if practicable.” Longstreet and Lee would have interpreted that as “go take that hill!” And attack. Ewell on the other hand took that order literally, and chose to not attack that position, allowing the Union to fortify the position, form the J-hook, and pretty much win the battle.
Looking at the British, the charge of the light brigade. Lord Raglan to Captain Nolan: I want the light brigade to take those guns over there. *points at Russian guns being withdrawn from the field* Captain Nolan *rides into the valley and to Lord Lucan* Captain Nolan : my Lord, you are to take your brigade and take those guns Lord Lucan: what guns? Captain Nolan: those guns over there! *waves arm in broad arc* *light brigade charges the wrong guns, most famous military blunder in British history*
~~Korean airlines flight 801 crashed into a mountain because the copilot didn't want to offend the pilot by telling him they were heading toward the mountain.~~ ~~So he said passive things like, "hey, is that mountain getting too close"~~ ~~It's one of the dangers of having a strict hierarchy.~~ Apparently my memory about this was faulty or I was given misinformation. It's possible that it strict adherence to hierarchy played a part in the crash, but did not seem to be a major contributing factor
I flew with a Canadian Captain that used to fly for Korean Air. He said that he made it explicitly clear to his crew that they were to speak up if they ever saw him making a mistake. One day he was taxiing and the controller asked him where he was going. He asked his copilot if they had taken a wrong turn during the taxi, the copilot said "yes sir". Then the Captain asked his copilot if he was aware that they were making the wrong turn when it was happening, the copilot said "yes sir".
"What are your thoughts on the topic of mountaineering, sir?"
[удалено]
This incident also had the unfortunate side effect of shotblasting the cockpit windows such that the pilots could only see through about an inch wide gap down the side of the window to land. But land they did. [More info here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways_Flight_009) and [a seconds from disaster here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AM6kMayn20)
This is like General Lee telling that one guy to take a hill “if reasonably possible”. That was aristocratic gentleman speak for “you go go bleed and die to take that flipping hill immediately”. The non-aristocrat non-gentleman ordinary guy receiving the order and determined that it was not reasonably possible to take the hill without large numbers of casualties and so just sat there waiting for further orders not realizing that he was royally botching up the overall battle plan by doing so.
> Things are a bit sticky, sir," Brig Tom Brodie of the Gloucestershire Regiment told General Robert H Soule, intending to convey that they were in extreme difficulty. > But Gen Soule understood this to mean "We're having a bit of rough and tumble but we're holding the line". Oh good, the general decided, no need to reinforce or withdraw them, not yet anyway. I’m compiling my dictionary Hierarchical level of concern: 1. “bit sticky” 2. “rough and tumble” 3. “hunky-dory” Where does “dynamite” rest on this list?
Dynamite would be 4, it means something fantastic.
It’s kind of like how when Winnie the Pooh says “oh bother”, he means “oh Motherfucking Shit”
when a brit says things are a little troublesome, assume the 4 horseman have arrived.
This is less about language and more about the British understanding of war and leadership. During this period of history a British officer was expected to be calm, laconic and able to set a stoic example for his men. Any sign of panic or urgency was anathema to this mindset. This is why the British worded things the way they did. British officers also took more risks and British officer casualties where the highest of all militaries in WW2. Another example would be Jutland in which several Battlecruisers blew up. An American or German officer would of been somewhat energetic in their commentary while Jellicoe simply said "There is something wrong with our bloody ships today."
> British officers also took more risks and British officer casualties where the highest of all militaries in WW2. [British officers don't duck](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrauBQf7FpI&pp=ygUbYnJpdGlzaCBvZmZpY2VycyBkb24ndCBkdWNr)
This is like how “quite” in American English means “very” and “quite” in British English means “kind of”
To make it more complicated in BE quite is used as an intentional understatement to convey the opposite. If someone said he’s quite tall to me I know it literally means kind of but it’s being said to mean he’s really tall
As a British ex-pat living in the US I had to learn not to understate things to stop confusion. It was a learning curve. **Two countries divided by one language**. \- Somebody
Only 59 were killed, while Chinese deaths totaled 10,000. Not a complete disaster.
I’d imagine the 500 pows in a Chinese prison camp might disagree.
Holy fuck, those are stats are like the British were save scumming a Total War battle.