About This Quiz
The phrase "curse like a sailor" is one we all know, and it refers to how people in the military talk, although the Navy is known for throwing f-bombs into everything (e.g., Lieu-f***ing-tenant). And the curse words can get quite creative and colorful, and some have made it into civilian life. Many times, the strong language is hidden in acronyms. Take for example the well known FUBAR, which means (in the more G-rated version) "Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition." Sometimes recognition is replaced with repair. You may not know FUBER, which takes "all recognition" and replaces it with "economical repair".
NAVspeak, as some from the U.S. Navy call it, is a language all its own. A lot of it is full of sarcasm, jokes and phrases which play on words, like the nicknames of their ships. One prime example is Sh*tty Hawk, which is a nickname for the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63). You can imagine what that means for the oldest ship in the US Navy. There's a lot in this quiz we couldn't use because it was just way too salty, even with a little censoring. But by the time you finish it, you'll be able to curse like a sailor and, many times, not necessarily offend anyone – unless they know the NATO phonetic alphabet. Oscar Mike Golf! Ready to shove off into the less polite language of the Navy? We hope you have fun on this quiz! Bon voyage!
This "code" is an acronym for a more strongly worded way to tell someone to shut up. Specifically it means, shut the f*** up.
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If you've watched the movie "Full Metal Jacket", then you're familiar with the phrase "sh*t sandwich". The less profane phrase is "soup sandwich". Whatever the sandwich is made of, it's implied that you have to eat it and just deal with the undesirable situation.
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Using the NATO phonetic alphabet, Alpha Mike Foxtrot is an acronym which means "Adios Mother F****r". Within a garrison, it can be a fond farewell, but in combat, it's not said with any fondness or kindness.
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One of the many Naval acronyms, SNAFU means "Situation Normal: All F***ed Up." The G-rated version of this phrase uses "all fouled up". The acronym came around the WWII era, as military members bitterly embraced the chaos that was war and combat.
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JANFU is an acronym which means "Joint Army-Navy F*** Up". A JANFU appears to not happen often, but it's another way to explain a very messy situation.
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Charlie Foxtrot is the NATO phonetic alphabet version of the phrase "cluster f***". Usually, a Charlie Foxtrot involves a group of people and multiple errors building up to a complete disaster.
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FIDO is an acronym which stands for "F*** It, Drive On." You should just keep on moving, even when the proverbial sh*t has hit the fan.
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Sometimes, things just don't go as planned and mistakes happen. Delta Sierra is the NATO phonetic alphabet phrase for "Dumb Sh*t".
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Also known as "Bravo Foxtrot", no one wants to be called a Blue Falcon, or known more strongly – a Buddy F***er. This shipmate will screw over their fellow shipmates for their own benefit and cannot be trusted.
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SOL is an acronym you're probably familiar with when it's written out. It stands for "sh*t out of luck", which is pretty self-explanatory.
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Here's another way that the NATO phonetic alphabet can hide a strong, foul message. Foxtrot Uniform means "F*** you".
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Maybe you recognize what the last three letters of this acronym means. DILLIGAF stands for Does It Look Like I Give A F***? If you want to be extra colorful, you can add another F for "Does It Look Like I Give A Flying F***?"
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FUMTU can be seen as an escalation of SNAFU. It means "F***ed Up More Than Usual." So things are a step above the usual messed-up state.
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Using the NATO phonetic alphabet, "Sierra Hotel" stands for SH, meaning "Sh*t Hot." This isn't the same as hot sh*t, because that means someone who thinks they're impressive or wonderful. Sierra Hotel is a compliment.
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"The bullsh*t flag" is of course not a literal flag that one would raise. But if someone is full of hot air or crap, then you'd say that you're "raising the bullsh*t flag."
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In the Navy, there's a lot of sarcasm used, and FTN encapsulates how some sailors feel about seemingly unfair Navy rules and regulations. It means "F*ck the Navy" and you'll often find it written in bathroom stalls or in other hard-to-reach places. It's meant to annoy higher ups.
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This may be an acronym that you're familiar with. BFE is usually just said as "bumf*** Egypt" and it typically refers to a deployment or duty station that's not only far away, but isolated with maybe not that much to do. Another way of saying this is "Big F***ing Empty".
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This is one of those terms that is pretty straightforward. Anything that's not working right can be considered broke-d*ck and is usually used as an adjective.
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If you hear "a monkey and a football," it may sound a little bizarre, but it's similar to the phrase "cluster f***". It's a shortened phrase for a longer, more colorful phrase: "A monkey f***ing is a football, and the football is winning". This describes how someone is poorly handling a situation.
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FIGMO is a military acronym which means "F*** It, Got My Orders" (also written as FIIGMO). You could be excited or relieved to finally have official orders to go to a different place, or you could say it as a way to show disinterest in a current assignment. It could also mean that you're about to be discharged, or that you're about to complete an assignment.
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This acronym may be one that you already know. GTFO stands for "Get The F*ck Out", pronounced GIT-foe. You'll likely hear this during training and in combat.
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TARFU is an acronym which stands for "Things Are Really F***ed Up". It's more messed up or fouled up than SNAFU or FUMTU, but possibly still redeemable.
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NO GAS is an acronym for a strongly worded rebuke: "No One Gives A Sh*t." You'll probably hear someone from a higher rank say this to someone in a lower rank.
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PDOOMA (pronounced "pa-dooma") is a magical place where good ideas come from. PDOOMA stands for "Pulled Directly Out Of My A**".
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SOS stands for "Same Old Sh*t" or "Sh*t on a Shingle". This meal of chipped beef in a milk gravy on toast is a staple in the Navy. Some even like it, but it's hard to like it every day (thus the other name, Same Old Sh*t).
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The Navy is full of sarcasm, although some of this may be rooted in some truth, since newcomers take a while to learn the ropes. FUNGUS stands for : "F*** You, New Guy, You Suck".
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For someone who is new on the ship, or maybe someone who should know better, there's this acronym: RTFM. This stands for "Read the F***ing Manual". The G-rated version is "Read Those Fine Manuals".
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Before Kanye made this word famous, SWAG was a slang acronym used in the military and seems to have been first used in the Vietnam War. SWAG stands for "Scientific Wild-A** Guess", and that's usually based on someone's experience and gut feelings vs. actual facts and research.
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Officially, WEFT stands for "Wings Exhaust (or Engine) Fuselage Tail", which is how ships identify aircraft or prop aircraft that's in the area. But the more salty version of this acronym is "Wrong Every F***ing Time" because usually the identification is wrong.
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FNG stands for "F***ing New Guy." It became popular as a derogatory term during the Vietnam War because newcomers tended to leave the armed forces earlier than more experienced servicemembers. Until someone can prove themselves, the label FNG will stick.
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You might not be familiar with this acronym, but it's used in the Navy and elsewhere. FUBB stands for "F***ed Up Beyond Belief", which is stronger than SNAFU.
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WTF is probably something you're already familiar with (what the f***?). In NATO phonetic alphabet, that's Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (also the name of a movie). But you'd add the O (or Oscar) if you're asking someone via voice communications (sometimes pronounced "wit-fo").
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This is one of the strongest ways you can tell someone you don't like them or you don't want to do what has been asked of you. ESFOAD stands for "Eat Sh*t, F*** Off And Die". There's also just FOAD (pronounced "fo-ad").
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Here's another response to being asked to do something you may not want to do because you're only there for a couple of weeks, as reservists typically get activated two weeks every year. FUBIJAR stands for "F*** You Buddy, I'm Just A Reservist".
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MARF officially stands for "Modifications and Additions to Reactor Facilities", which is now a training facility. But a superior saying MARF to someone who is a roving watchstander on a ship means "Make Another Round, F***er." "FOAD" is a common response to MARF.
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