What is the genesis of the term "jarhead", and does it have a negative connotation?
116632
Many supposed origins- my pick is because Marines in the eary 19th century wore tall covers resembling jars, thus jarhead.  Never in my time in did I ever hear the word used by Marines except in derogatory terms.\n\nUPALLNITE- Teufelhunden is plural, "devil dog" is teufelhund- you F*cking Jarhead.
15739
It is term used by Iran and its leaders about the USA.  Are we the "Great Satan"?  Yes according to Iran.  No if you ask anyone here in the USA.\n\nBush has called Iran, part of the Axis of Evil.  Same kind of thing.  We want our people to know they are bad.  And they do the same thing for their people.
1040736
I know what it is although I am not a part of it.  \n\nSHARP (Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice) - Aggressively anti-racist and usually political, often left wing. The moniker "SHARP skinheads" is commonly used for all outspoken anti-racist skinheads, even if they aren't members of a SHARP organization. Anti-racist skins also include RASH (Red and Anarchist Skinheads), Redskins, and Anarcho-Skinheads.
1156551
It's currently used synonymously with "the creeps", "the willies", "goose bumps."  i.e. "That ghost story gives me the heebie-jeebies!" \n\nIt's thought to have originally had anti-semitic meanings (which you might be meaning as the 'military definition', but according to what I found: \n\nThe phrase "heebie-jeebies" was invented by Billy De Beck, a famous American comic strip artist of the 1920's, in his popular "Barney Google" strip in 1923. De Beck, by the way, also invented "hotsy-totsy" (a term of approval) and the wonderful "horsefeathers" (meaning "utter nonsense") in his strip. "Heebie-jeebies" must have caught the popular imagination immediately, since the dance of that name appeared a scant three years later, in 1926.\n\nThe invention of "heebie-jeebies" by De Beck was, without doubt, innocent of any racial or ethnic animosity. The only possible anti-Semitic interpretation of "heebie-jeebies" comes from its unfortunate resemblance to the slang term "hebe" (a cropping of "Hebrew"), which is indeed an anti-Jewish epithet. Whether you want to risk possible misunderstandings when you use "heebie-jeebies" is up to you, of course, but the truth of its innocent origin is its best defense.
59935
depends on the "polite company".  You can judge.\nIt really isn't a "bad" word, I have used it around my students many times.\nIt did start from oral sex, but has developed beyond that, much the same as the word "jerk" started from the word that means self gratification (****off) but has evolved past the vulgarity.
87761
To talk through one's hat was a widespread phrase by the 1880's meaning to talk nonsense although it initially meant to lie.\n\nThe origins of the phrase are unclear. The two most common theories are that it referred to men in church who held their hats over their faces while pretending to pray. It might also be a reference to the emptiness of the hat above the head implying the speaker is speaking with an empty head. It might also be a reference to "he's talking off the top of his head" meaning without preparation or references.
1114402
Tool has long been a crude term for the male appendage.\n\nVarious crude terms for the male appendage have been used as derogatory names for people.  \n\nIt was inevitable that tool would eventually become a derogatory term.  As to when it did, that's anyone's guess, although I noticed it becoming more prevalent in the '90s
44504
there are two supposed origins - \n1. is from the word nut, meaning hard seed, which is called "hnutu" in Old English or "*khnut" in Proto-Germanic\n\n2. from earlier be nutts upon "be very fond of" (1785), which is possibly from nuts (noun, plural) "any source of pleasure" (1617), from nut (described above). Sense influenced probably by metaphoric application of nut to "head" (1846, e.g. to be off one's nut "be insane," 1860). Nut "crazy person, crank" is attested from 1903, (British form nutter first attested 1958).
834217
The term was originally used in cricket, and was connected with the custom of giving a hat or cap to a bowler who achieved the feat of taking three wickets in a row.\n\nThe term was first used to describe H.H. Stephenson's feat of dismissing three batsmen with consecutive deliveries in 1858 and was used in print for the first time in 1878.
388965
There are a couple of possible theories of origin for the term "gibberish". One says that the basis is in the old word "gibber" which is allied to "jabber". However, "gibberish" was in use before the word "gibber", therefore making this a dubious theory. A better explanation says the word comes from Geber, the name of an Arabian alchemist in the 11th century. He invented a strange terminology so that his works could not be understood by others; more importantly, he could not be accused of heresy, which was punishable by death. "Gibberish" in its modern sense was certainly used by 1811.
380792
The evolution of speach perverted this word a bit. Awful used to be a word to describe God. It meant "Terrible and full of awe". Then somewhere along the line Terrible began to be used as a word for things that were not good instead of just for things that were very much out of our element. When that association came about awful started to gain a negative connotation. When awful was no longer a good thing awsome started to be said to replace awful so that there was a positive way to describe awe.
836688
I have never heard of it before but didn't find it offencive.  Even after it was explained by someone else.\nMaybe it wasn't this word that got the response deleted but something you'd said........\nI like it.\nI think I'll use it.  lol
741742
I think it's a euphemism for "jacksh-t"\nSo now the question is, where did THAT phrase come from?
639470
This is a references to an old phrase started, not England, but Scottland... the term was mistranslated by the English in the midst of war. The Term was used by the Scottish to bring out their weapons and black axes, the axes weren't really black but that's a different story. In any case... it is now used to mean "Get ready for the worse"
1125454
I was one of those who mocked my compatriots.  As a Submariner, I was a "bubble head", the surface Navy were targets, or Pukes.  Marines, "Jarheads"....the list goes on.  In part it is just the banter and good nautured ribbing of other branches, to make yourself or your branch better.  I suppose there are those who really dislike other branches, but I never met one.  I don't think in eight years I saw anyone say one of those names in anger.
901632
Technically, its not a racial term. It is just a term blacks used to identify whites who were abusive. Since it carries emotional hatred, it became a pseudo racial epithet but to be honest it is pretty weak and silly. It's basically using an old slang that meant "racist" as a racist term. See the problem?
184106
"Illegitimis non carborundum"\n\n(Phrase Origins)\n\n\n\n   Yes, this means "Don't let the bastards grind you down", but it\nis not real Latin; it is a pseudo-Latin joke.\n\n   "Carborundum" is a trademark for a very hard substance composed\nof silicon carbide, used in grinding.  (The name "Carborundum" is a\nblend of "carbon" and "corundum".  "Corundum" denotes aluminium\noxide, and comes to English from Tamil _kuruntam_; it is related to\nSanskrit _kuruvinda_ = "ruby".)  "The "-ndum" ending suggests the\nLatin gerundive, which is used to express desirability of the\nactivity denoted by the verb, as in _Nil desperandum_ = "nothing to\nbe despaired of"; _addendum_ = "(thing) fit to be added";\n_corrigendum_ = "(thing) fit to be corrected"; and the name Amanda,\nfrom _amanda_ = "fit to be loved").\n\n   _Illegitimis_ is the dative plural of _illegitimus_ =\n"illegitimate"; the gerundive in Latin correctly takes the dative to\ndenote the agent.  _Illegitimus_ could conceivably mean "bastard" in\nLatin, but was not the usual word for it:  _Follett World-Wide Latin\nDictionary_ (Follett, 1967) gives _nothus homo_ for bastard of known\nfather, and _spurius_ for bastard of unknown father.\n\n   The phrase seems to have originated with British army\nintelligence early in World War II.  It was popularized when U.S.\ngeneral Joseph W. "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell (1883-1946) adopted it as\nhis motto.  Various variant forms are in circulation.\n\n\nSource: [Mark Israel, 'Phrase Origins: "Illegitimis non carborundum"', The alt.usage.english FAQ file,(line 4970), (29 Sept 1997)]