Trivia...Word and Phrase Origins

[HighSpeedClimb]

NO JOY NO JOY Where did it come from, anyone have an idea? Come on Military guys, you are the ones that usually use it..

 

[JP4user]

NO JOY NO JOY Where did it come from, anyone have an idea? Come on Military guys, you are the ones that usually use it..

I read once where this dates back to the beginnng of WWI when the gunners or pillots would spot an enemy and then shot it down would later describe the events as "joyfull"...or they were full of "joy" at a kill.

Hence when no target was in sight or sighted the phrase "no joy" came into play when they returned with out joy or elation at a victory.

 

[atrdriver]

The Real McCoy

During prohibition a man named William McCoy was smuggling alcohol from the islands in the Caribbean. During that time others were mixing various alcohols such as rubbing alcohol with soda, etc to mask the taste (supposedly the origin of the mixed drink). If you were buying alcohol on the black market you would ask if it was “The Real McCoy” and not a bottle of rum filled with rubbing alcohol.

I heard that the "real mccoy" referred to a lubricating mechanism on steam engines that was patented by a guy named McCoy. I think it was on the history channel.

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

NO JOY NO JOY Where did it come from, anyone have an idea? Come on Military guys, you are the ones that usually use it..

I already posted it above. It's a brevity code meaning "I have been unsuccessful". Comes from the same list as chicken choker and all that other stuff.

 

[miles otoole]

"The whole 9 yards" was John Holmes' last movie, if I remember correctly.

 

[ils2minimums]

"No joy" doesn't bother me as much as hearing someone say "I've got him on the fishfinder". I don't know who the first guy to use that phrase was, but I hope someone digs him up and punches him in the "bread basket"...

Anyone know why an enemy plane is called a "bogey"?

 

[Dilligaff]

FU CK

In medieval England you needed the King's permission for dang near everything, including copulation. The equivalent of the "Do Not Disturb" sign back then actually read "Fornication Under Consent of the King". No, this is not a joke.

Another derivation of this term was when a gentleman was arrested for engaging in sexual acts with a prostitute, he was arrested For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge.

Dilligaff

 

[Dilligaff]

Anyone know why an enemy plane is called a "bogey"?

Someone explained Bogeys a few pages back.

 

[Whistlin' Dan]

What about "Turn In The Barrel" such as "not me...its your turn in the barrel this week".

Supposedly referring to a custom practiced during the era of sailing ships, wherein one of the more "fey" members of the crew positioned himself into a barrel into which holes had been cut at strategic locations. Other crewmembers, no doubt feeling the strain of many weeks or months at sea, would place their...ahem..."male members" into the hole for the occasional relief. The purpose of the barrel was to impart some degree of anonymity to the person inside, although I'm sure that even a cursory "head count" would have revealed who was "on duty" that particular night.

Whether the story is true or not, I do not know. However, it DID factor heavily into my decision to choose service in the Air Force over the Navy.

 

[ils2minimums]

Someone explained Bogeys a few pages back.

Maybe next time I should actually "READ" the thread before posting... :0

Ok here's one that's not aviation related: Why is the money you leave a waitress called a "tip"?

 

[No_Desk_Jobs]

Climbing like a raped ape is a terribly entertaining (to me) and self explanatory euphemism for describing a high rate of climb.

 

[V1cutsrfun]

Ok, which airline is it that had the (adlib) call out "through 10 with a hen"?

 

[Rik717pilot]

tips: To Insure Prompt Service

 

[Rik717pilot]

Well, this thread came to a resounding close... but I digress..

 

[Tail Gunner Joe]

This thread is so full of cr*p and mistruths, I am waiting for someone to tell me that Sir Thomas Crapper invented the toilet.

 

[ils2minimums]

This thread is so full of cr*p and mistruths, I am waiting for someone to tell me that Sir Thomas Crapper invented the toilet.

Negative, it was PHENEAUS TERRANCE SHlTTER...

 

[Oh-ryan]

now I could be incorrect, but I am pretty sure that "SNAFU" is an acronym for Situation Normal; All Fuked Up.

It's used constantly on television, especially on news broadcasts. The president even uses it once and a while. I wonder if they really understand that they are covertly using the horrid "F" word on national television.

 

[Rik717pilot]

Of course there is F.U.B.A.R and F.I.G.M.O. as well as B.O.H.I.C.A., which is what AA did to TWA!

 

[Gorilla]

Hugh, I'm pretty sure that the terms Tally Ho (enemy in sight) and No Joy (cannot see enemy) are fox-hunting terms dating back centuries from jolly old England. The Brit pilots in WW2 adapted the terms when they spanked the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain. Because they were unique, and short and sweet, they were adapted by U.S. forces in the spirit of commonality.

Worth more research, I'll see if I can't find out what the real story is.

 

[infiniti757]

No Joy

The military defines no joy as not being successful or having no information. Supposedly this comes from the poem Casey at the Bat, by Ernest Thayer.

Casey Strikes out after much fanfare and the last verse goes like this.

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville—mighty Casey has struck out.


Hence the term No Joy for lack of success, and from there you get the average weekend warrior saying it just to sound cool, some of whom probably don't even like baseball let alone know the origins of the term.

Oh if you've never heard of Casey heres a link:
http://ops.tamu.edu/x075bb/poems/casey.html