Changing times and changing definitions

Being in the trenches in World War I meant being in actual action.

The same term today means that a person is actively working on something. For example: "He spent years in the trenches before they made him president of the company."

Another one from World War I was "Screaming Meemies." That expression was coined for German artillery shells that emitted an exceptionally high-pitched whine before exploding. The term was later used to describe a state of extreme nervousness bordering on hysteria.

The "no man's land" expression dates back to the 1300s when it meant the waste ground between two kingdoms. But in World War I, it was applied to the land between the German and Allied trenches. This area was the battle line for three years, covered with barbed wire and shell holes between the two lines. 

Since then, the term has been loosely used to describe an indefinite situation where one was neither here nor there. 

Lastly, "digging in" during World War I meant digging the trenches that the soldiers on both sides lived in for months on end. From this in our modern day, it acquired the meaning of stand firm in one's position or views. 

Roger Gregory is a Vietnam veteran and a business owner in Priest River.