R.A.F. SLANG
Stit,—In your issue dated 'February 23, Mr. Tangye reviews "A Dictionary of R.A.F. Slang," by Eric Partridge.
, I have not seen this book, but I cannot think that either Mr. Tangye or the author can possibly justify the inclusion of the term " scrub," meaning " to cancel," in a collection of R.A.F. slang.
The expression is in common use in the Royal Navy, and has been for many generations. It derives from the days'? when all signals and orders were written on a slate. When the signals were cancelled or the orders executed, the words on the slate were " scrubbed out " or, equally correctly, " washed out."
Possibly some of the many senior officers of the Air Force who started their careers in the Navy, or who served in aircraft carriers afloat, brought this expression with them on leaving the sea.—I am, Sir, Your obedient
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