The subject of the First World War evokes many images, many of which are used repeatedly nowadays in film and TV, but they tend to concentrate on the drama and the misery of war. The reality was that it didn’t rain every day, the trenches were not knee deep in mud all year round, and soldiers were not subjected to shelling and death every day of their lives.

In fact, day-to-day life was, as one veteran expressed “90 per cent sheer boredom and 10 per cent fear, but when we were frightened, we were very frightened, though you tried not to show it”.

Certainly, death and destruction were present, as they typically are in times of war. However, these soldiers were youthful, dynamic, and notably hopeful. Most of them were convinced that nothing grave would befall them, always thinking that bad things would happen to someone else. To cope with their anxiety, they confided in their intimate friends, sharing their struggles and apprehensions.

Numerous veterans have shared their reflections on their experiences in the First World War, expressing a blend of nostalgia and fondness, along with sorrow for fallen comrades. Their quintessentially British sense of humour played a crucial role in maintaining their perspective and resilience during difficult times. Even in the darkest moments, their ability to find humour shone through, as they often recounted amusing anecdotes to us.

Their extensive use of songs and slang provided much of the entertainment. Like in any profession, soldiers had their own language that was difficult for outsiders to understand.

During the years 1914-18, a significant change occurred in Britain as men from various backgrounds were enlisted in a large citizen army, leading to the creation of a unique language among them. Unlike previous times when military slang stayed within the ranks, a large portion of it was brought back home by soldiers returning from the western front during the First World War.

Beyond its immediate effects on politics and geography, WWI also left a lasting imprint on the English language, especially through the slang used by British soldiers, affectionately known as "Tommies." Remarkably, many of these expressions have endured, seamlessly integrating into everyday vernacular. Let's explore some of these enduring phrases and their origins from the trenches of the Great War.

1) ‘Having a chat’

An everyday saying we use now originates from the harmful insect known as the louse. During wartime, body lice were prevalent in the trenches, living in the folds and creases of clothing, multiplying rapidly, and leading to skin irritations and itching.

The expression is often ascribed to the Hindi word for a parasite, ‘chatt’, but is more possibly from an earlier medieval English word for idle gossip, ‘chateren’. Soldiers in the Napoleonic Wars certainly referred to lice as ‘chats’. During the Great War it was common to see small groups sitting around and talking as they used their fingernails, or a candle, to kill the lice. Such groups were described as men who were ‘chatting’.

2) ‘Plonk’

The now almost universal word for a bottle of wine. The British soldier has traditionally failed since time immemorial to master the pronunciation of even the simplest foreign words, and it is merely mispronunciation of the French ‘vin blanc’.

3) ‘Pillbox’

Before the war began, a number of small defensive military fortifications known as blockhouses had been built. These structures were predominantly made of sturdy timber, with a significant amount of them being erected during the Boer War.

However, the term was only widely adopted into English during the latter part of the Great War because of the huge numbers of concrete bunkers constructed by the Germans across the flooded Flanders battlefields. They were called pillboxes due to their similarity to the small receptacles used by civilians for carrying medication.

4) ‘Blighty’

The mysterious origins of this word, now widely used in British English, remain unclear. It may have come from the Arabic ‘beladi’, meaning ‘my own country’, or the Hindi word ‘bilaik’, referring to a foreign place or country. For the Tommies, it meant only one thing: home.

The best possible way to get there was to sustain a wound serious enough to require hospitalisation in England, which was enviously termed ‘a Blighty one’.

5) ‘Third light’

There was a belief that lighting a third cigarette from the same match brought bad luck. This superstition stemmed from a practical reason: German snipers could spot and target a light source, like a flaring match, in about five seconds at night from a distance of over 500 yards. Consequently, the time it took for the third person to light their cigarette was also around five seconds.

6) ‘Tank’

Fosters of Lincoln produced the first modern armoured fighting vehicles discreetly, keeping their purpose hidden from German spies by informing workers that they were actually mobile water tanks.

Some were even clearly marked in Cyrillic ‘Water tanks for Russia’. The ruse certainly worked, because their first use on the Somme on 15 September 1916 was a complete surprise to the Germans.

7) ‘Sniper’

Before the outbreak of the First World War, armies utilised specialised marksmen called 'sharpshooters'. However, the Germans introduced thousands of highly trained riflemen equipped with telescopic-sighted rifles when the war began. These soldiers were commonly referred to as 'snipers' by British officers, a term that originated from the army's activities in India during the late 18th century, where officers engaged in bird hunting in the hills, with the Snipe bird being one of the most challenging targets to hit.

Starting from 1914, the term 'snipers' gained widespread usage in the British press and has since been universally accepted. Today, 'sniping' can also encompass making sharp or sarcastic remarks about another individual.

8) ‘Over the top’

An example of an expression that has seen a resurgence, although now with a very different meaning. Originally it referred to the physical act of launching an attack by climbing over the sandbag parapet in front of a trench – literally by going over the top. It thus became synonymous with setting off on any highly dangerous venture, usually with a slim chance of survival.

It mostly died out after the war but in recent years has been revived, albeit now meaning to embark on a course of action or to make a remark that is either excessive or unnecessary.

9) 'Shrapnel’

Often used today as a reference to the annoying, and all-but-worthless small change that accumulates in one’s pockets or purse. It is possibly the most incorrectly used word from the war, as it is invariably misapplied to describe the lethal flying splinters from high-explosive shells.

In fact, it refers to the lead balls launched from airburst shells (a little like airborne shotgun cartridges) invented by Lt Henry Shrapnel of the Royal Artillery in 1784.

10) ‘Bumf’

Printed paper that is produced in huge quantities for no discernable reason, and apparently has no information value. The junk mail we all receive on a daily basis is a prime example.

It is derived from the army term ‘bum-fodder’ – paper that has only one possible practical use. It is originally from prewar schoolboy slang then appropriated by the soldiers to refer to excessive paperwork. It generally referred to the endless streams of army orders that were issued from headquarters.

During a fierce attack on the Somme, a British orderly officer was bombarded with messages from headquarters, asking about the quantity of tinned jam in storage and the number of pairs of socks needed.

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