Abbreviations used in this list:

abbr. abbreviation

ad. adoption

adj. adjective

cont. contraction

der. derived from

n noun

phr. phrase

v verb

Fag		Cigarette.
Fanny		1. Female genitalia. 2. Girl or woman. der. F.A.N.Y. (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry) raised during WWI.
Fatigues	n	1. Extra duties awarded as punishment. 2. Denim uniform (see Denims).
Fiddle		Contrive or arrange a situation or something to one’s advantage.
Field	n	Term to denote living under canvas away from one’s depot.
Filch		Steal.
Finger trouble		Minor operational problem.
Five-mile bash		Forced march of five miles, usually undertaken in full battle order with rifle, to be completed in one hour. One of the elements of the annual test of physical fitness undertaken by all Units of the British Army.
Flannel	v	To obfuscate, confuse, conceal the truth as in ‘Lead up the garden path’.
Flap	n sl.	A state of panic usually caused by the unexpected.
Flea pit		Local cinema.
Flicks		Cinema.
Flog	v	To sell.
Four-by-two		Piece of white flannel measuring 4 inches x 2 inches, torn from a roll 4 inches wide and marked off every 2 inches by a red line. Folded, attached to a pull-through, and used to clean out the barrel of a .303 rifle (following boiling-out) after firing practice on the rifle range.
Free Sunday		Usually every fourth Sunday, with no Church Parade, when Apprentices were free to pursue their own activities without hindrance.
Fred Carno’s Army		A disorganised rabble.
French letter		Condom.
Frenchie		See ‘French letter’.
From where the sun never shines		See ‘Khyber’.