"AWOL"; "cojones"

Posted by GPP on August 01, 2003

In Reply to: "AWOL" posted by GPP on August 01, 2003

: : : : hello,
: : : : That phrase has been said by Mr.Bush once. What does it mean and having been said by a statman, what does it signify? Thank you all.

: : : It signifies that President Bush was trying to sound like a "tough guy." I don't think that is a very statesman-like phrase. Any comments from my fellow Americans?

: : It's something I might envision Harry Truman as saying, under different circumstances--when U.S. troops would not be immediately endangered by the challenge, for instance. The difference, of course, is that Truman fought in France, and had cojones, instead of going AWOL from a joke National Guard program.

: "AWOL" (pron. "A'-wall"): Absent (from military post) WithOut Leave (permission/authorization). Is the same term used in UK?

The only archives entries question whether AWOL should be considered an acronym, or a word. Originally an acronym, it has passed into general usage as a word in the US--but I think still only in its all-caps spelling--and is not restricted to military use, but can be used to describe any unexplained or unauthorized absence from a place of duties.

"Cojones", of course, is the Spanish for testicles or "balls"--I'm under the impression this term passed into general American usage from Hemingway, probably from 'Death in the Afternoon'. Comments?