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Dear Doc Jargon,
I heard the phrase “lock and load” in the old John Wayne movie, "Sands of Iwo Jima." I know it originally referred to guns, but I hear it now when someone means practically anything is ready to go. I was trying to figure out where the term came from and how can you load something after it has been locked?
Can you help?
Signed,
Unlocked and curious
Dear Unlocked,
This is a case of many stories and all of them related to firearms. Some sources say it was a term coined by early weapons trainers in the days of flint lock rifles. To safely load those weapons, the shooter has to lock the firing mechanism back so it wouldn’t accidentally discharge and then load the gun powder.
Firearms advanced and the semi-automatic M1 Garand was issued to troops in the days of World War II, they were taught to pull the operating rod all the way to the rear and then load the clip into the rifle and then push and lock the rod forward. So, for this one it was load and lock.
I did find a rumor that the Duke was supposed to say load and lock, but when filming happened, he said it the way it was taught prior to the M1 Garand. So, the term lock and load stuck and has come to mean that the weapon is ready for use and as a command to make it ready to use.
As for the morphing of the term to encompass all manner of things, we all know that happens in the military. After all, why come up with another term when we have a perfectly good one that means pretty much the same thing?
Thanks for asking about this one – it was fun to look up. I’d sure like to get my hands on an original script from that old John Wayne film for two reasons. The first reason would be to see if he said it right, the second because I bet it’s priceless.
I hope I answered your question.
Sincerely,
Doc Jargon
| Date Taken: | 11.03.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 11.03.2022 13:12 |
| Story ID: | 432580 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 2,114 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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