Dictionary definition of “bullet sponge”

bullet sponge

n. a person, especially a soldier, who takes the brunt of weapons fire. Subjects: English, Firearms, Military, Slang

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Citations: [1989 Robert Hoiles Akron Beacon Journal (Ohio) (Mar. 13) “Police Gunning To Boost Odds Drug Dealers Better Armed Than Officers” p. A1: …Temporary superhuman strength and imperviousness to pain.…Drugs can turn the drug user into a “bullet sponge”—someone who can literally…] 1994 Adam A. Hart Usenet: alt.law-enforcement (May 19): You get three kinds of cops: The loose cannon loner who follows his own rules, the ineffective bigoted fat redneck, and the bullet sponges who couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn and have the IQ of Dan Quayle.…Noone (except maybe the bullet sponges) ever has to worry about wether the training they recieved is going to be enough in those few moments of terror they may have to face one day. 1994 [Steve Sample] Usenet: alt.folklore.military (May 25) “Re: Interservice derogatory nicknames”: Marines -> Bullet Sponges. 2000 David Mendell Chicago Tribune (June 29) “Real Bodyguards Say They’re More Mind Than Muscle” p. 1: Bodyguards serving politicians and others who crave public attention must learn to please the principal’s ego and maintain safety. Besides being a “bullet sponge,” in Kobetz’s words, responsibilities fall to planning events with safety in mind or serving as an observant personal assistant. 2002 Michael Gilbert News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington) (Mar. 14) “Soldiers train to a fighting edge” p. A1: Fighting in there “is going to be chaotic,” he said. There’ll be lots of ricochets, concussions, shrapnel, and nowhere to crawl in retreat. “The first guy is going to go down.…He’s going to be a bullet sponge,” Rinehart said. 2003 Wes Allison @ Camp Pennsylvania, Kuwait St. Petersburg Times (Florida) (Mar. 23) “Infantrymen thrive in the thick of things”: Others in the Army call them grunts, or trigger pullers, or crunchies, for the sound of a tank rolling over a dead soldier. Sgt. Allan Toney has heard them all. “Bullet taker, bullet sponge, bullet stopper,” he recites while smoking a cigarette outside the concrete barriers protecting his battalion’s tent city. “Joe.” 2006 Cindy Sheehan Thepeoplesvoice.org (Oct. 13) “Close Encounters of the Bush Kind”: I believe George does not want to humanize his cannon fodder, or bullet sponges, as the soldiers call themselves.

Posted 17 Oct 06 | Permalink | Tell a Friend