The Lexicographer's Rules

Recent interesting catchwords from the Double-Tongued Dictionary are:

trunk monkey n. a rear gunner in an armed vehicle, caravan, or convoy. Used among military personnel and contractors in Iraq. It’s possible that the term derives from this advertisement from Suburban Auto Group, and others in the same series which first aired in Portland, Oregon, in January 2003.

wasta n. the Arabic word for influence, personal connections; “pull” or “juice.” While not yet fully adopted as an English word, wasta is increasingly familiar to American soldiers serving in the Middle East. A previous surge in use of the term among Anglophones happened during the first Gulf War.

Quite right on the advertisement connection. The “trunk monkey” was popularized even more when the sewing shops on some US bases started selling unauthorized “trunk monkey” army uniform patches.

And it is somewhat common to tell a local national something like “you/I don’t have that much wasta!” when something offered or asked is just not feasible at our level.