While Bugles Blow Glossary

Stories from the Golden Age reflect the words and expressions used in the 1930s and 1940s, adding unique flavor and authenticity to the tales. While a character’s speech may often reflect regional origins, it also can convey attitudes common in the day. So that readers can better grasp such cultural and historical terms, uncommon words or expressions of the era, the following glossary has been provided.

allez-vous-en: (French) be off with you.

Annamite: of Annam, a historic region of southeast Asia, comprising most of central Vietnam. The name Annam, meaning “pacified south,” comes from an ancient Chinese name for Vietnam. France revived the term in the nineteenth century to designate central Vietnam. In the 1880s France established a protectorate over the region. Annam, along with Cochin China in southern Vietnam, Tonkin in northern Vietnam and eventually Laos and Cambodia, was part of the French-ruled Indochinese Union, popularly called French Indochina. During World War II, Japan expelled France from occupying Vietnam.

Atlas: Atlas Mountains; a mountain range in northwest Africa extending about fifteen hundred miles through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, including the Rock of Gibraltar. The Atlas range separates the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines from the Sahara Desert.

attendre, mon enfant: (French) pay attention, my child.

bandolier: a broad belt worn over the shoulder by soldiers and having a number of small loops or pockets for holding cartridges.

barb: a breed of horses introduced by the Moors (Muslim people of mixed Berber and Arab descent) that resemble Arabian horses and are known for their speed and endurance.

Berber: a member of a people living in North Africa, primarily Muslim, living in settled or nomadic tribes between the Sahara and Mediterranean Sea and between Egypt and the Atlantic Ocean.

billet: to provide lodging for; quarter.

caid: a Berber chieftain.

cap and bells: a cap with bells on it, once worn by jesters. Made of cloth, the cap was floppy with three points, each of which had a jingle bell at the end. The three points of the cap represent the ears and tail of an ass.

caporal: (French) corporal.

Casablanca: a seaport on the Atlantic coast of Morocco.

demoiselle: (French) young lady.

devil-may-care: wildly reckless.

djellaba: a long loose hooded garment with full sleeves, worn especially in Muslim countries.

empaquetage: (French) packing.

en avant: (French) forward.

Fez: the former capital of several dynasties and one of the holiest places in Morocco; it has kept its religious primacy through the ages.

Franzawi: (Arabic) Frenchman.

G-men: government men; agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

hobnail: a short nail with a thick head used to increase the durability of a boot sole.

Hotchkiss: a heavy machine gun designed and manufactured by the Hotchkiss Company in France from the late 1920s until World War II where it saw service with various nations’ forces, including France and Japan, where the gun was built under license. The machine gun is named for Benjamin B. Hotchkiss (1826–1885), one of the leading American weapons engineers of his day, who established the company in 1867.

houris: in Muslim belief, any of the dark-eyed virgins of perfect beauty believed to live with the blessed in Paradise.

jinnī: (Arabic) in Muslim legend, a spirit often capable of assuming human or animal form and exercising supernatural influence over people.

kepi: a cap with a circular top and a nearly horizontal visor; a French military cap that men in the Foreign Legion wear.

kohl: a cosmetic preparation used especially in the Middle East to darken the rims of the eyelids.

Lebels: French rifles that were adopted as standard infantry weapons in 1887 and remained in official service until after World War II.

legation: the official headquarters of a diplomatic minister.

Legion: French Foreign Legion, a specialized military unit of the French Army, consisting of volunteers of all nationalities assigned to military operations and duties outside France.

Legionnaires: members of the French Foreign Legion, a unique elite unit within the French Army established in 1831. It was created as a unit for foreign volunteers and was primarily used to protect and expand the French colonial empire during the nineteenth century, but has also taken part in all of France’s wars with other European powers. It is known to be an elite military unit whose training focuses not only on traditional military skills, but also on the building of a strong esprit de corps amongst members. As its men come from different countries with different cultures, this is a widely accepted solution to strengthen them enough to work as a team. Training is often not only physically hard with brutal training methods, but also extremely stressful with high rates of desertion.

Magat: a river on the largest island of the Philippines.

Mannlicher: a type of rifle equipped with a manually operated sliding bolt for loading cartridges for firing, as opposed to the more common rotating bolt of other rifles. Mannlicher rifles were considered reasonably strong and accurate.

Maroc: (French) Morocco.

Mauser: a bolt-action rifle made by Mauser, a German arms manufacturer. These rifles have been made since the 1870s.

mes enfants: (French) my children.

metal: mettle; spirited determination.

mon ami: (French) my friend.

mon commandant: (French) my commander.

mon Dieu: (French) my God.

mon Lieutenant: (French) my Lieutenant.

Monsieur: (French) Mr.

mountain gun: an artillery piece designed for use during mountain combat. It is generally capable of being broken down into smaller loads for transport by horse, human, mule or truck. Due to its ability to be broken down into smaller “packages,” it is sometimes referred to as a pack gun.

mountain rifle: a very long, ruggedly built rifle designed for use in mountainous terrain.

pig’s bladder: a pig’s bladder blown up like a balloon and hung on the end of a stick. It was part of a jester’s costume and was used as a scepter, a mock symbol of office.

pith helmet: a lightweight hat made from dried pith, the soft spongelike tissue in the stems of most flowering plants. Pith helmets are worn in tropical countries for protection from the sun.

postern: postern gate; small secondary entrance, sometimes concealed, and usually at the rear of a castle or fortress, used as a means to come and go without being seen or as a route of escape.

Rif: Er Rif; a hilly region along the coast of northern Morocco.

Riff: a member of any of several Berber peoples inhabiting the Er Rif. The Berber people of the area remained fiercely independent until they were subdued by French and Spanish forces (1925–1926).

Scheherazade: the female narrator of The Arabian Nights, who during one thousand and one adventurous nights saved her life by entertaining her husband, the king, with stories.

scimitar: a curved, single-edged sword of Oriental origin.

sentry go: guard duty; the duty of serving as a sentry.

Shaitan: (Arabic) Satan.

Shilha: the Berber dialect spoken in the mountains of southern Morocco.

shroud: cloth used to wrap bodies for burial.

Snider: a rifle formerly used in the British service. It was invented by American Jacob Snider in the mid-1800s. The Snider was a breech-loading rifle, derived from its muzzle-loading predecessor called the Enfield.

Spahis: light cavalry regiments of the French Army recruited primarily from Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco.

Toledo: Toledo, Spain; a city renowned for making swords of finely tempered steel.

tramp: a freight vessel that does not run regularly between fixed ports, but takes a cargo wherever shippers desire.

Tuaregs: members of the nomadic Berber-speaking people of the southwestern Sahara in Africa. They have traditionally engaged in herding, agriculture and convoying caravans across their territories. The Tuaregs became among the most hostile of all the colonized peoples of French West Africa, because they were among the most affected by colonial policies. In 1917, they fought a vicious and bloody war against the French, but they were defeated and as a result, dispossessed of traditional grazing lands. They are known to be fierce warriors; European explorers expressed their fear by warning, “The scorpion and the Tuareg are the only enemies you meet in the desert.”

under the hammer: for sale at public auction.

vizier: a high officer in a Muslim government.

volley fire: simultaneous artillery fire in which each piece is fired a specified number of rounds without regard to the other pieces, and as fast as accuracy will permit.