• Balbo, A .................... A large formation of aircraft.
• Bale out .................... To take to one's parachute.
• Bind, A .................... People who obstruct one.
• Black, A .................... Something badly done, a "bad show".
• Blitz, A solid lump of ...... Large formation of enemy aircraft.
• Blonde job, A ............... Young woman with fair hair.
• Bogus ....................... Sham, spurious.
• Bomphleteers ................ Airmen engaged on the early pamphlet raids.
• Brassed off ................. Diminutive of "browned off".
• Brolly ...................... Parachute.
• Browned off, To be .......... "Fed up".
• Bumps and Circuits .......... Circuits and landings.
• Bus driver .................. A bomber pilot.
• Buttoned up ................. A job properly completed, "mastered".
• Completely Cheesed .......... No hope at all.
• Cope ........................ To accomplish, to deal with.
• Crabbing along .............. Flying near the ground or water.
• Deck, Crack down on ......... To "pancake" an aircraft.
• Dog fight ................... Aerial scrap.
• Drill, The right ............ Correct method of doing anything.
• Drink, In the ............... To come down into the sea.
• Dud ......................... Applied to weather when unfit to fly.
• Duff gen. ................... Dud information.
• Dust bin .................... Rear gunner's lower position in aircraft.
• Erk, An ..................... A beginner in any job.
• Fan ......................... The propeller.
• Flak ........................ Anti-aircraft fire.
• Flap ........................ A disturbance, general excitement.
• Fox, To ..................... To do something clever or rather cunning.
• Gen. (pron. jen) ............ General information of any kind whatever.
• George ...................... The automatic pilot.
• Get Cracking ................ Get going.
• Gong, To collect a .......... To get a medal.
• Greenhouse .................. Cockpit cover.
• Hedge-hopping ............... Flying so low that the aircraft appears to hop over the hedges.
• Hurryback ................... A Hurricane fighter.
• Jink away ................... Sharp manoeuvre. Sudden evasive action of aircraft.
• Kipper Kite ................. Coastal Command Aircraft which convoy fishing fleets in the North and Irish Seas.
• Kite ........................ An aeroplane.
• Laid on, To have ............ To produce anything, such as supplies.
• Mae West .................... Life-saving stole, or waistcoat, inflated if wearer falls into sea.

Click to continue . . .

• Mickey Mouse ................ Bomb-dropping mechanism.
• Muscle in ................... To take advantage of a good thing.
• Office ...................... Cockpit of aircraft.
• Organize .................... To "win" a wanted article.
• Pack up ..................... Cease to function.
• Peel off, To ................ Break formation to engage enemy.
• Play pussy .................. Hide in the clouds.
• Pleep ....................... A squeak, rather like a high note klaxon.
• Plug away ................... Continue to fire. Keep after target.
• Pukka gen. .................. Accurate information.
• Pulpit ...................... Cockpit of aircraft.
• Quick squirt ................ Short sharp burst of machine-gun fire.
• Quickie ..................... Short for above.
• Rang the bell ............... Got good results.
• Rings ....................... Rank designation on officer's cuffs.
• Ropey ....................... Uncomplimentary adjective. "A ropey landing", "A ropey type", "A ropey evening", etc.
• Screamed downhill ........... Executed a power dive.
• Shooting a line ............. Exaggerated talk, generally about one's own prowess.
• Shot Down in Flames ......... Crossed in love. Severe reprimand.
• Snake about ................. Operational aerobatics.
• Spun in ..................... A bad mistake. Analogy from an aircraft spinning out of control into the ground.
• Stationmaster ............... Commanding Officer of Station.
• Stooge ...................... Deputy, i.e. second pilot or any assistant.
• Stooging about .............. Delayed landing for various reasons. Flying slowly over an area. Patrolling.
• Synthetic ................... Not the real thing. Also applied to ground training.
• Tail End Charlie ............ Rear gunner in large bombing aircraft or rear aircraft of a formation.
• Tear off a strip ............ To reprimand, take down a peg.
• Tee up ...................... To prepare a job, to get ready.
• Touch bottom ................ Crash.
• Toys ........................ A great deal of training equipment is termed toys.
• Train, Driving the .......... Leading more than one squadron into battle.
• Type ........................ Classification - usually referring to people. Good, Bad, Ropey, Poor type.
• View ........................ R.A.F. personnel always take a "view" of things. Good view, Poor view, Dim view, Long
• distance view, Lean view, Outside view, "Ropey" view.
• Wizard ...................... Really first class, superlative, attractive,
• ingenious.

This file originally found RAF Slang