A Dictionary of RAF Slang by Eric Partridge

Drop your visiting cards, put aside your beer-lever, stop being a half-pint hero and discover the gloriously funny slang which was part of everyday life in two world wars.

Thanks to the work of Eric Partridge in 1945, the hilarious slang of the Royal Air Force during the first two World Wars has been preserved for generations to come. While some phrases like 'chocks away!' have lasted to this day, others deserve to be rediscovered...

Beer-lever: From pub-bars, meaning the 'Joystick' of an aircraft.
Canteen cowboy: A ladies' man.
Half-pint hero: A boaster. One who exemplifies the virtue of Dutch courage without having the trouble of going into action.
Tin fish: A torpedo.
Umbrella man: A parachutist.
Visiting-card: A bomb.
Wheels down: Get ready - especially to leave a bus, tram, train. From lowering the wheels, preparatory to landing.
Whistled: In a state of intoxication wherein one tends to whistle cheerfully and perhaps discordantly.

Hardcover: 64 pages
Language: English.