CIVILIAN.--A male person of tender or great age, or else of weak intellect and faint heart.
COMMUNIQUE.--An amusing game played by two or more people with paper and pencil in which the other side is always losing and your own side is always winning.
DIGGER.--A friend, pal, or comrade, synonymous with cobber; a white man who runs straight.
DUD.--A negative term signifying useless, ineffective or worthless, e.g., a "dud" egg; a "dud of a girl" is one who is unattractive; and a dud joke falls flat.
DUGOUT.--A deep recess in the earth usually too small. As an adjective it is used to denote that such a one avoids hopping over the bags, or, indeed, venturing out into the open air in a trench. At times the word is used to denote antiquated relics employed temporarily.
HOME.--The place or places where Billzac would fain be when the job is done. Also known as "Our Land" and "Happyland."
HOPOVER.--A departure from a fixed point into the Unknown, also the first step in a serious undertaking.
IMSHI.--Means "go," "get out quickly." Used by the speaker, the word implies quick and noiseless movement in the opposite direction to the advance.
LEAVE.--A state or condition of ease, comfort and pleasure, involving the cessation of work: not to be confounded with sick leave. Time is measured by leaves denoting intervals of from three months to three years. Leave on the other hand is measured by time, usually too short.
MUD.--Unpleasantness, generally connected with delay, danger or extreme discomfort. Hence a special meaning of baseness in "his name is mud."
OVER THE BAGS.--The intensive form of danger: denoting a test of fitness and experience for Billzac and his brethren.
RELIEF.--A slow process of changing places; occurs in Shakespeare: "for this relief many thanks."
REST.--A mythical period between being relieved and relieving in the trenches, which is usually spent in walking away from the line and returning straight back in poor weather and at short notice.
SALVAGE.--To rescue unused property and make use of it. The word is also used of the property rescued. Property salvaged in the presence of the owner leads to trouble and is not done by an expert.
SOUVENIR.--Is generally used in the same sense as salvage but of small, easily portable articles. Coal or firewood for instance, is salvaged at night, but an electric torch would be souvenired.
