Comments on: Chogie

By: Joe G

Joe G — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 15:30:35 +0000

I’m a Koean vet and have used the term “cut a chogey” since that time. Not many people in the area that I live in now (I have to protect the innocent, so you will have to guess where the “area” is) have ever heard of the phrase and it is fun to see their expression when I use it (like Ah, what?).

By: Frank T

Frank T — Sat, 07 May 2011 23:44:26 +0000

“Cut a chogey” was in common use as GI slang during and just after the Korean war. If someone said, “I’ve got to cut a chogey over to battallion,” you knew what he meant. Also, short timers spoke of “going to chogey on out of here.”

Many people also wonder about the Japanese terms used in Korea and Vietnam. In 1945, when American troops were ordered to Korea for occupation duty, many had been trained to speak Japanese (what they expected to speak to Japanese POWs or in occupation of japan) but going to Korea mainly to accept surrender of Japanese troops. When our troops got to japan, they had almost no Korean speakers — but many Koreans understood japanese due to having been occupied by the Japanese for 35 years. So terms “Hootch” (Japanese UCHI for house) and “Moose” (mistress) from Japanese “musume” which meant “little wife.” Since we would be close to the Japanese for decades, and employed many of them on bases, many GIs picked up the Japanese. Marines on duty on Okinawa during Korea and Vietnam learned japanese phrases and expressions there — thus language migrated in the form of slang to Korea and Vietnam.

By: nita salamone

nita salamone — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 01:11:16 +0000

Addendum to my previous post: my Daddy was in the Korean War.

By: nita salamone

nita salamone — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 01:09:24 +0000

My Daddy has used the phrase “cutting a chogie” to refer to someone going fast, ever since I can remember. I am glad to finally know the origin on the phrase.

By: Ray

Ray — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 01:31:29 +0000

I may be able to offer you a possible alternate explaination.

In the British army, the term Chogie has been used since the British occupation of India, where a Chogie was typically a locally employed civilian, typically Indian who would cook, clean and do whatever else.

As the troops fought together in the Korean war (indeed more integrated AFAIK then in WW2) it is entrely possible that the Americans simply picked up the word from the British.

By: Tyler W

Tyler W — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 04:34:05 +0000

My gandad was in the Vietnam War. He and myself now live in Texas and he uses the term “cuttin’ a chogie” quite often. Today he was mowed the yard and my Granny said told him “I think you got some sunburn on your legs from mowing”. He said “No, that’s prolly windburn. I was cuttin a chogie”.

By: Phil

Phil — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 23:30:23 +0000

My father used this term “choagie” as well. He was in the Marines during the Vietnam conflict, he was luckily in the half that did not have to go. Anywho, he used it in the sense that to “cut a choagie” is to go to the restroom, implying that “choagie” is another word for poop, turd, etc.

By: FrankT

FrankT — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:08:07 +0000

You are correct — chogi is the Korean term, and “cut a chogey” was common slang in the army in Korean war days. In trench warfare, the communications trench was called the “chogi trench.” Its usual use was “move quickly.” Kara chogi — go there.

By: Naynay

Naynay — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:15:59 +0000

Hmmm.. that’s interesting about the padiddle thing. In high school I used to be in drumline. One of the rudiments they teach you was called a paradiddle. When my friends would play this game in the car (ones that were not in drumline) they would tap their hand between the window and dashboard making a paradiddle. I always assumed that was why they called it a padiddle.

http://www.vicfirth.com/education/rudiments/16singleparadiddle.html

By: Dawn

Dawn — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 04:09:37 +0000

My father always says “kipe a chogie” I would assume it means the same thing. Ever heard that one?

By: Tom mayn

Tom mayn — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 07:50:25 +0000

thanks. I had printed this for my friends.

By: Max Alasca

Max Alasca — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:12:54 +0000

We also put it in my children’s scrapbooks.

thanks,
Max