Ever try to come up with that one word that you just can't think of? Thesaurus.com, google, nothing helps! Well here's a thread to post such quandrieds. Let's see what people come up with!
What's the word a soldier would call a fellow soldier, when referring to him while talking to someone else?
Like, the way I'd say "I'm waiting on my friend."
Comrade?
^my first thought, too. but i don't think anyone outside of russia (or just russia on tv?) says "we're waiting on my comrade."
brother-in-arms?
no... something you'd say out loud to someone while on a mission. in modern times.
Probably their rank or title? Cadet, private? Brother-in-arms? Is this definitely a real word?
thesaurus.com just suggested "bosom buddy." I'm gonna assume that's totally it and start congratulating myself now.
@ Thuggish:
This could be a lot of things depending on the details. Simple, would be battle buddy or brother. That's the standard. Then, some refer to each other simply by last name or by rank, e.g. Corporal, Major, Lieutenant. For something a little friendlier, we get more derogatory. I used to refer to one of the other guys in my unit, whom was also Puerto Rican, as the "other spic." If you need something more professional, then it is rank and last name, e.g. Major Thorton, Sergeant Ringo, Private Honcho. This is important when dealing with officers. That or you use their position in the unit, e.g. Platoon Commander, Battalion C.O., Section Chief. We basically never ever refer to someone by first name. Medical field has their own slang, Doc, Medic, Corpsman are the usual. Communication guys are called Comm Bubbas. Mechanics are mechs, EOD are sometimes referred to as Engineers, and there are many many more.
So, basically, I would need context.
Okay, the context is: a soldier is telling a civilian he's never met that he's waiting on the one other soldier he's out with, who's nearby, to show up.
Kind of similar to the way you'd say "I'm waiting on my guy" or "I'm waiting on my man" or something, but neither guy nor man sound right.
...
Or maybe bosom buddy is the way to go.
Well, if he's trying to impress a girl, battle buddy works. It sets up that they will be in battle together, or were in battle together, and it impresses girls. Maybe not uber feminists who are all about my vagina is as good as your gun kind, but the typical every day girl who hasn't picked up an agenda. (And if that offended anyone, you can write me a message that I will kindly delete for you. No charge.)
If it's just some random stranger, any colloquialism will work. We're not that anal. .... most of the time.
Okay, any colloquialism it is.
One wonders: who would ever bother trying to impress a feminazi anyway? Do navy guys get that desperate being on a boat for so long? Yikes.
Oh, and I think every girl ever picks up on the agenda. They're much more intuitive than us guys on that stuff. Not that you have to be... we're guys.
Also, I find your post highly offensive. I'm going to write you a four- to five-paragraph long message about how and why, only 1.5 paragraphs will actually be about the subject at hand, you dirty mysoginist, your rude behavior is going to kill this entire board... well, I'll save it for the message.
#notreally
It's not a matter of impressing a feminist, or a feminazi as you call them, it's just the reality that attrition works. If the woman is straight, one guy is going to say the right things at the right time and get her into bed. It's a little like playing the lottery.
If there are 10,000 single dudes on a base, and only 100 women, and every single guy hits on each of the them, some one is going to say it right.
So, in the military you learn to take shots and not worry about getting shut down. It's all just part of the game. And if you're lucky, you both actually hit it off.
It's no different from civilian life except we're hyper-aware of the situation.
And it's not that it's a no-romance attrition battle. We know we create the mood, and set the stage, and everything is a big dog and pony show. Military guys and girls are worried about dying in war. Getting shut down isn't going to faze too many of them.
You know, it's funny... there are a lot of guys who would really envy that mindset.
