suck rubber

v. phr. to breathe with the aid of a protective mask or body suit. Subjects: English, Military

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Citations: 1991 [Christian M. Restifo] Usenet: alt.activism (Feb. 17) “Re: The Nazi Regime”: Ain’t a day goes by that when I don’t suck rubber, I ain’t happy. 1992 [Karen Schneider] Usenet: alt.usage.english (Oct. 28) “Re: He doesn’t know jack-shit”: Did he have to suck rubber? (That is, practice military exercises while wearing a gas mask). 1999 Barry R. Schneider Future War and Counterproliferation (Feb. 28) p. 99: Once in full MOPP-4 gear and engaged in “sucking rubber,“ many tended to focus mainly on their own units to the exclusion of what was happening in adjacent units. 2002 Douglas C. Waller Big Red (Apr. 1) p. 80: Outlets, with red arrows pointing toward them, stuck out everywhere, to which crewmen could attach rubber tubes and inhale air from breathing masks in emergencies such as fires (they called it “sucking rubber”). 2003 Isambard Wilkinson Daily Telegraph (U.K.) (Mar. 22) “Carrier launches ‘cataclysmic’ bomb campaign.” p. 5: They fired at us 10 times. We had the “chem” gear on the whole time sucking rubber. 2003 Gregg Bendrick Making of a Flight Surgeon (May) p. 178: As a Flight Surgeon I was a member of the Primary Response team involved with the initial receipt and triage of casualties. I would soon get used to seeing patients while wearing my gas mask and sucking rubber. 2004 Joe Lambe Kansas City Star (1) (May 1) “Firefighters are teaching a hard-learned lesson”: The time to call Mayday isn’t when (low on air) sucking rubber on your face mask. 2004 Joseph W. May Jr. @ Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii Air Force Times (52) (May 3) “Letters: Gold standard?”: I could not back up wearing a combat device to another member who has put rounds down range or sucked rubber after a Scud attack. 2005 James J. Weller @ Willow Grove Air Reserve Station, Pa. Air Force Times (May 2) “Letters: Cracks in awards system”: Someone who didn’t have to suit up in Mission Oriented Protective Posture gear and “suck rubber” thought up that requirement. 2005 Gene Rector @ Robins Air Force Base Telegraph (Macon, Ga.) (Nov. 30) “Robins unit set for major inspection”: We’ll have simulated ground bursts and smoke going off and people running around in protective suits sucking rubber, as people affectionately refer to it.

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