Taking flak

[reohn2]

.....From reading Biggles books l remember that in WW1 flak/AAA was called 'archie'...

Not as nice sounding as Roberta IMO

[landsurfer]

This is underlined by a general search highlighting the fact that tons of forum users utilise the "flack" embodiment which has come under the spotlight here. At the end of the day, we have a workmanlike stand-in the perfectly good English jargon. One fly in the ointment is that it's tripe to come out with "Come under anti-aircraft fire." And "flak" is only four letters long, so it's just the job for hacks rustling up headlines.

From reading Biggles books l remember that in WW1 flak/AAA was called 'archie'. God knows why - well l suppose Google does...

It was a derivative of the phrase "Ack Ack " the noise made by the guns ... Ack became Archie ..

[661-Pete]

There is no excuse for spelling errors. Indeed, every word in the following is correctly spelt ("spelled"?) as you can see:

Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a quay and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its really ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect in it's weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.
(Sauce unknown)

[Oldjohnw]

One thing which always puzzles/amuses me about flak is flak jackets. Beloved of politicians epecially Defence Secretaries and PMs (wanting to appear macho?) but what use are they?

As a pacifist I readily admit my ignorance about things military: the answer may be obvious.

[thirdcrank]

A word I hear a lot at work from the younger members. The word "bray". As in "I'll bray her" meaning knock her out. To me the word bray is what donkeys do. ... .

The verb bray used with a violent meaning is very familiar to me although I can imagine it may now be largely confined to regional usage. My Chambers Dictionary, 1993 edition, gives both definitions of bray, with the cry of the ass second.

In an earlier discussion about the word, a forum member / penfriend mentioned that a brayer is a tool a bit like a rolling pin used in printing and more fully described here:-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brayer

[Ben@Forest]

One thing which always puzzles/amuses me about flak is flak jackets. Beloved of politicians epecially Defence Secretaries and PMs (wanting to appear macho?) but what use are they?

They usually have a plate of kevlar over the heart area (both back and front) which will stop most small arms rounds and shell fragments piercing that part of your body.

[landsurfer]

One thing which always puzzles/amuses me about flak is flak jackets. Beloved of politicians epecially Defence Secretaries and PMs (wanting to appear macho?) but what use are they?

They usually have a plate of kevlar over the heart area (both back and front) which will stop most small arms rounds and shell fragments piercing that part of your body.

But unlike the movies the wearer is often incapacitated as a result of the dynamic shock forces involved ..

[661-Pete]

One thing which always puzzles/amuses me about flak is flak jackets. Beloved of politicians epecially Defence Secretaries and PMs (wanting to appear macho?) but what use are they?

Maybe for this reason?

[Marcus Aurelius]