ruptured duck, n.

[Joe Allonby]

The people I heard that term from served in, yes, the forties.


On Sat, Sep 17, 2011 at 6:55 AM, Paul Mackin <mackin.paul at verizon.net> wrote:
> On 9/17/2011 9:25 AM, Joe Allonby wrote:
>>
>> I believe it was also used to describe the Eagle Insignia worn to
>> indicate that an officer was not on active duty but wearing the
>> uniform for ceremonial purposes.
>
> Or because they hadn't gotten around to buying civies yet.
>
> This was the main use of the term in the forties.   Everybody knew it.
>
> You were also issued a gold colored pin to indicate that you had served. (in
> addition to the sew-on insignia for uniforms)
>
> P
>>
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Sep 15, 2011 at 8:16 PM, Dave Monroe<against.the.dave at gmail.com>
>>  wrote:
>>>
>>> OED Online Word of the Day
>>>
>>> ruptured duck, n.
>>>
>>> Pronunciation:  Brit. /ˌrʌptʃəd ˈdʌk/ , U.S. /ˌrəp(t)ʃərd ˈdək/
>>>
>>> Etymology:<  ruptured adj. + duck n.1
>>>
>>>  U.S. slang (orig. and chiefly Mil.).
>>>
>>> 1. A damaged aircraft.Several specific planes were nicknamed ‘the
>>> Ruptured Duck’, notably a B-25 that was used in the 1942 Doolittle
>>> raid on Tokyo.
>>>
>>> 1930    ‘W. W. Windstaff’ in S. Longstreet Canvas Falcons (1970) xvii.
>>> 291,   I began to look for a place to bring down my ruptured duck, oil
>>> spitting in my face.
>>>
>>> 1943    Los Angeles Times 28 Apr. i. 4/2   He tied our‥decoration onto
>>> the bomb load of that plane we had nicknamed the Ruptured Duck.
>>>
>>> 1989    W. J. Boyne Trophy for Eagles 102   That night Bandfield
>>> walked past the crumpled remains of the Fisk, a battered, ruptured
>>> duck.
>>>
>>> 1995    S. J. Cannell Plan (1996) xl. 230,   I can't guarantee we
>>> ain't gonna prang it in a cornfield. Bird's a ruptured duck.
>>>
>>> 2003    Edmonton (Alberta) Sun (Nexis) 24 Nov. 18   ‘The horror
>>> stories are countless,’ said passenger Brian Parks of Las Vegas. ‘I'm
>>> not getting back on that ruptured duck.’
>>>
>>> http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/276863
>>>
>
>