Military Rhymes: A Collection Of The Phrases That Capture Part Of A Culture

I’ve long been a fan of military rhyming couplets. I think they seem to be such an intriguing aspect of American military culture. Here, with a lot of help from my Task & Purpose colleagues, are some I and they remembered. Please add yours in the comments section.

Lots of these are infantry sayings, but not all of them. I wonder if the rhyming couplet is a thing in just parts of the military. Or do niches like intel and EW have their own sayings that just aren’t as well known?

• “Kick the tires and light the fires.”
• “Smokin’ and jokin’.”
• “Every room with a boom.”
• “We’re rackin’ ‘em and stackin’ ‘em.”
• “Haze gray and underway.”
• “Shoot and scoot.”
• “Spray and pray.”
• “You snooze, you lose.”
• “Sun’s out, guns out.”
• “Different spanks for different ranks” (From JS)
• “Runnin’ and gunnin’.” (From DW)
• “Locked, cocked and ready to rock.” (From JS)
• “Nuts to butts.” (From BvR)
• “In the rear with the gear.” (From BL)
• “If it ain’t raining, we ain’t training.” (From JK and others)
• “Wakee wakee, eggs and bacee” (From MN)
• “Choose your rate, choose your fate.” (Navy saying) (Fm RJ)
• “Two is one and one is none” (That is, always pack two of everything) (Fm DJ)
• “Bottle to throttle” (time from last drink to first aviation duty) (From “Bluto”)
• “Dip it and rip it!” (For when you've established a long duration OP and you need tobacco and caffeine to stay awake all night) (From MS)
• “When in doubt, whip it out!” (No, not a Donald Trump quotation. It is a paratrooper saying about your reserve chute) (From RM)
• “Knees to the breeze” (More paratrooper talk, this one from JK)
• “If it flies it dies” (From SA)
• “Last to know, first to go” (Fm JC)
• “It’s not gay when you’re underway” (Fm JB)
• “3 and 5 keep you alive” (fuel and ammo) (Fm JD)
• “Warheads on foreheads” (Air Force saying)
• “Snoopin’ and poopin’” (What Recon does) (Fm “Iron Captain”)
• “Gear adrift is a gift” (Marine Corps rationale for stealing) (Several entries)
• “No comms, no bombs.” (Commmunications guys) (From TS)
• “Wattage in your cottage” (Radio PSYOPS) (From RB )
• “Balls to the wall” (Giving aircraft maximum power for takeoff) (From “Charlie Sherpa”)
• “Semper Fi, do or die” (ZI)
• “I’m Jo-jo the duck, and I’m all fucked up” (Army basic and corrective training) (JS)

And of course, the classics that began it all, the Iliad and Odyssey of NCO sayings:

• “Drop your cocks and grab your socks”
• “This is my rifle, this is my gun/ One is for fighting, one is for fun” (From “Charlie Sherpa”)