← Ernie Pyle WWII Museum Podcast

Episode 98- G.I. Jive: A Dictionary of Words at War

Jun 2, 2026 · 21 min

About this episode

In this episode I spoke with Paul Dickson about his book "G.I. Jive: A Dictionary of Words at War". The language of American World War II military service began to evolve with the first draftees of 1940. Their emerging vocabulary was irreverent, creative, and often obscene, influenced by the worlds of music, jazz, swing, jive, and the nation's fascination with occupational slang.