Get the inside tip with America's number one radio show about language, A Way with Words
Catchword for “92-Mike”
Catchword: 92-Mike
Filed under: , ,
Part of speechn.
Quotation: The individuals who work at the depot are mortuary affairs specialists, referred to as “92-Mikes” in Army parlance.
Article or document title:
“Fallen Troops’ Belongings Handled With Care at Maryland Depot” (URL)
Author:
Steven Donald Smith
Article, document, publication, web site:
DefenseLINK
Dateline:
Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.
Date of publication:
Mar. 17, 2006
This catchword has yet to be researched.
Comments:
92-Mike, or 92M, is a military occupational specialty (or "MOS") for people doing mortuary work. Each MOS has a 2-digit front part followed by a one-letter ending, and everybody in the US Army has one. They range from "rocketry guidance engineer" to "cook, mobile mess." A book titled "84 Charlie Mopic", which is about Viet Nam and came out in the late '70's (I think) refers to an MOS of "84C" (cameraman) with specialty of "moving pictures." 11B (one-one bravo) is a light-weapon infantryman, or a basic grunt. Googling on any of these brings up a generous number of online cites, some leading to reliable cites offline. ehr
by Edward Rice 24 Mar 06, 0121 GMT

Thanks, Edward. Your information gibes with what I found myself.
by Grant Barrett 24 Mar 06, 0127 GMT

More discussion of the 92-Mikes in this New Yorker piece from Aug. 2004.
by Ben Zimmer 29 Mar 06, 0838 GMT

Leave a comment, which must be approved by the moderator before it will appear. Courtesy matters!

Keep in mind that we're interested in terms that are not well-covered in mainstream dictionaries, or not covered at all. A mass of unexamined Google hits counts for nothing, but an early use of the term you've found in a book or periodical is very useful. A term does not have to be new to be recorded here, it merely needs to be worthy of more attention.
Name (mandatory):

Email (mandatory):

Location (optional):

Your Web Site (optional):

Remember my personal information

Notify me, by email, of follow-up comments.

Recent Catchwords
sorry gift n. (2/19)
break the ton v. phr. (2/19)
ghost shift n. (2/17)
stock n. (2/13)
startle factor n. (2/13)
hair crush n. (2/13)
seagen n. (2/13)
rollup n. (11/30)
simming n. (11/8)
nimbleton n. (11/6)
kitchen n. (11/6)
skuke n. (11/6)
parlor n. (11/6)
strap hanging n. (10/8)
parclo n. (10/8)
Dipper n. (10/8)
jeggings n. (10/5)
dittoism n. (10/5)
 More catchwords...
New Comments
Lance Hidy commented on flymph (3/23)
sunnyboy0 commented on seagen (2/12)
Trafficman2 commented on parclo (2/12)
paul Teague commented on Taig (2/5)
paul Teague commented on Taig (2/5)
vickie commented on moded (1/5)
midsummer commented on gleek (1/3)
to run away is to Die In Tragedy commented on robotripping (12/4)
TheAnalyst commented on mouth-breather (12/4)
Peter Williams commented on strap hanging (10/30)
hebotick commented on sorry gift (10/18)
urbanclothingguy commented on sorry gift (8/20)
Lolo commented on vacationship (8/17)
teresag commented on pump head (8/3)
kcjones007 commented on wooby (7/15)
Subscribe to the RSS feed.Subscribe to the mailing list.Browse the archive.Add to Technorati Favorites. © 1999-2012 by Grant Barrett, Double-Tongued Dictionary.