PONGO -Origin of this term

[Kat Stevens]

and making a fortune off the pups.

 

[tomahawk6]

Pongo - British naval term for Army officers.

 

[Nfld Sapper]

umm.... why reserect this topic after almost a year of non positng  ???

This term has been asked and answered before.


Merry Christmas to everyone.

 

[TN2IC]

Ah... well being where I am posted I have been refer to this "Pongo" term many times. Now I know... look out folks... TN2IC has information!

 

[The Rifleman]

I heard that the term was used by sailors who worked on troopships. With no washing facilities the cramped mass of humanity soon began to reek and so did the ships. It was so bad you could tell when a troopship was passing at night! So the nickname pongo was born, because wherever the army went, so did the smell - or, wherever the pong goes, so does the army.

 

[geo]

"that wasn't no Pong.... though there was a bit of a tang in the air"

 

[Baldricks-Bullet]

My own experience is that the term comes from the slang "pong" - a strong, unpleasant odour. Where the army goes, pong goes......... PONGO!

Thank you... that's right!  'Tis British slang

Where the Army goes the Pong'goes.  (smell)

All Army are Pongos... Air Force are Crabs and Navy are Matelots  (French I believe for bed-fellows!)

 

[The Rifleman]

Mate: Bosun's Mate, Gunner's Mate, Mate of a ship, all derive their rating from the French word "matelot" meaning sailor.

 

[Baldricks-Bullet]

Mate: Bosun's Mate, Gunner's Mate, Mate of a ship, all derive their rating from the French word "matelot" meaning sailor.

Yeps... you're dead right:
French, from matelot, sailor, from Old French matenot, sailor, bunkmate, possibly from Middle Dutch mattenoot (perhaps from matte, bed from Late Latin matta; see mat1 + noot, fellow) or from Old Norse mötunautr, messmate (mata, food, mess + nautr, companion).

I just realised that the bloke who was told me the story about sharing bunks/shift on boats á la his explanation of matelot was pulling my leg... kind off... there is a mention of bunkmate in the description above... so maybe he was being level.

 

[The Rifleman]

"hot bunking" is still going on within the worlds navies on board submarines. They dont physically share a bunk but swap when their shifts end - hence hot (or rather warm & smelly!) bunk 

 

[3rd Herd]

Other terms of endearment:

Donkey Walloper: Infantry term for cavalry members

Gasoline Cowboy: member of the armoured

Shavetail: refers to a Second Lieutenant. The saying comes from the practice in the army of shaving the tails of newly broken pack mules to distinguish them from seasoned ones.

An Australian military slang term for a reservist soldier: Choco

Military man: hey here comes a bunch of Chocos
civilian: whats a Choco?
Military man: a Chocolate soldier, he will melt in the heat of battle

 

[The Rifleman]

In the British Army a "Donkey Walloper" is a term used in reference to the Royal Horse Artillery. It originates from the Great war when the gun teams got stuck in the mud and the riders would whip them to try and get moving rather than dismount and get muddy themselves!

The rest of the artillery are "Drop Shorts" or "Long Range Snipers"