Abbreviations used in this list:

abbr. abbreviation

ad. adoption

adj. adjective

cont. contraction

der. derived from

n noun

phr. phrase

v verb

Sally Anne		Salvation Army.
Sam		Common nickname for the surname WELLER. Derived from one of Dickens’ characters.
Sarny		Sandwich.
Scheme	n	Exercise to simulate wartime field conditions away from one’s home depot.
Schnozz		Common nickname for one with a large nose.
Scouse		Common nickname for a Liverpudlian.
Scrote	n sl.	Any person held in low esteem by his fellow soldiers.
Scrubber		See Camp bike.
Scrumpy		Very strong cider.
S.D.		Service Dress uniform.
SEME	abbr.	School of Electrical & Mechanical Engineering, holding courses for those wishing to upgrade their qualifications.
Sergeant	n	Non-commissioned officer wearing three chevrons on the upper sleeve.
Shacked up		Living/consorting on a regular basis with a female, usually of questionable repute.
Shag		Copulate.
Shag nasty		Derogatory nickname.
Shambles	v sl.	1. Ideas or objects in a state of confusion or disorganisation. 2. A disorganised body of men.
Shanks’ Pony		The feet, i.e. walking.
Shattered		Exhausted or demoralised.
Sheckels		See Moolah.
Sheep shagger		Welshman.
Shirt sleeve order		Uniform code introduced annually on a specific date and for a specific duration without due regard to prevailing weather conditions, discarding the jacket in favour of shirt with sleeves neatly folded to the elbow (as seen in some of the photographs) for the duration of the official ‘summer’ months.
Shirty		Annoyed; angry.
Shite-hawk		Derogatory term.
Shitting yourself		Terrified.
Shit scared		Also ‘scared shitless’. See Shitting yourself.
Shots	n	Injections or inoculations provided by army medics against disease or infection.
Shower	n sl.	Derogatory term applied to any inept body of men.
Shreddies	n sl.	Military style underpants.
Shufti	v sl.	Look orig. Arabic verb “to look”, shufti an injunction meaning “to look”.
Singers	n sl.	Military parlance for Singapore.
Skint	v	To be without money.
Skirt		Female.
Skive	v sl.	To actively avoid doing work assigned or to be assigned.
Sky pilot		Chaplain.
Slack	adj.	Inefficient.
Slack handful		Many.
Slashing one’s cap		The illegal practice of cutting the stitching of the peak of one’s S.D. cap to enable its rake to be adjusted to a steep angle, Guards style.
Snog		Kiss.
Snowdrops		RAF Police.
Spider	n	Adjoining barrack blocks joined by covered ways.
Spit	n sl.	The butt of a cigarette.
Spondoolics		Money.
Sprog	b sl.	An apprentice tradesman with less service than he who used the word of him.
Spud		Common nickname for the surname MURPHY. Also potato.
Spud bashing		Peeling potatoes, usually as punishment when on fatigues.
Squaddie		Soldier.
Square	n sl.	1. The parade ground. 2. A derogatory term for Germans.
Square bashing	phr.	Foot drill on the parade square.
Squiz/Squizo		See Shufti.
Staff Sergeant	n	Non-commissioned officer, wearing a crown above three chevrons on the upper sleeve.
Stag	n sl.	Period spent on watch as part of a duty guard or fie piquet.
Stalk		See Hard-on.
Stoney		See Broke.
Stroppy		Belligerent.
Stir		Make trouble; rabble-rouse.
Surplus to requirement		Official euphemism for ‘dishonourable discharge’.
Sweeney		Nickname given to the camp barber. Derived from the notorious character “Sweeney Todd” the barber.
Swinging		Shortened form of ‘swinging the lead’. See Skiving.