Maggie's Drawers

[Herschel]

When I started in hipower rifle competition in 1958 the signal from the pits for a miss was a red flag on a pole that was waived across the face of the target. It was referred to by one and all as Maggie's Drawers I suppose with political correctness intruding in all phases of our lives, the term would now be considered inappropriate. I have been away from competitive shooting since 1987 and am wondering if the term is still heard in the pits.

[Parashooter]

Yes, rarely, and then often shortened to just "Maggie's". Of course the kids haven't a clue what it means until one of us geezers explains.

[John Kepler]

Yeah....it's been a while since I've heard it used, and few other than OFC members know what the hell it means. You'll hear it called a "Meatball" more frequently these days.

[Maury Krupp]

I think the jarheads still use it for their slowfire KD course. When I shoot at Pendleton there's usually one behind the bench at each target. So they know what it is and use the term.

At a regular highpower match, unless you're around Marines or old guys, not so much.

Maury

[FW!]

In the old Navy, when a ship was loading ammo. a red flag was run up the mast. It was called Maggies Drawers also

[Sunray]

"...the kids..." Bonnie Hunt played a game on her short lived talk show she called 'Young people don't know nothin'. She's right as well as kind of cute, too.

[gpw_42]

At 40, I'm not sure if I qualify as "one of the kids" but I learned about Maggie's Drawers when I was in high school. One of my history teachers got me to reading WEB Griffin's series on the Army, which lead to the same author's series on the USMC. The tips I picked up there about breaking down cosmoline from rifles works just as well today, cleaning it off NOS tie rod ends!

Steve

[Sunray]

"...W.E.B. Griffin..." Great stuff. His cop novels and 'Presidential Agent' series are good too.
From Encyclopedia.co, referenced from The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military.
"Maggie's drawers slang a red flag used to indicate a miss in target practice.
1940s: said to be in reference to a song entitled Those Old Red Flannel Drawers That Maggie Wore."

[us019255]

I quickly found the following:

http://www.horntip.com/mp3/fieldwork...el_drawers.htm

http://oxforddictionaries.com/defini...wers?region=us

I suspect that these references are close to home.

[John Kepler]

While quaint, and a term I grew-up with (both Dad and Grandpa were comp shooters).....it hasn't been applicable in the "real world" for decades! The term you are much more likely to hear and one that is far more applicable is a "meatball".....that nice red disk in the top of the target! That's why knowledge of the term is confined to a shrinking group of Old Farts