Is this why the Chieftain got Stillbrew?

May 16, 2020 10:30 AM

Armour? Mobility? Firepower? No, the most important thing in a tank is how easy it is to make tea, as the good people at The Tank Museum's Youtube channel explain.
posted by MartinWisse (6 comments total)

“When in Doubt, Brew Up”
posted by scruss at 11:19 AM on May 16, 2020

This
posted by evilDoug at 1:23 PM on May 16, 2020 [1 favorite]

This was great. Thanks for posting.
posted by suetanvil at 10:33 AM on May 17, 2020

“When in Doubt, Brew Up”

While a knocked-out vehicle may be later determined to be irreparable and written off, a K-kill is more obvious and usually involves the destruction of the vehicle by fire and/or explosion. Among tank crewmen it is also commonly known as a brew up, coined from the British World War II term for lighting a fire in order to brew tea. The expression arose because British troops used an old petrol tin with holes punched in the side as a makeshift stove on which to brew their tea. The flames licking out of the holes in the side of the tin resembled a burning tank and thus the expression was coined.

posted by zamboni at 1:46 PM on May 17, 2020

eww, not that, zamboni. I was meaning the unofficial motto of the Eighth Army and their famous Benghazi burners.
posted by scruss at 5:07 PM on May 17, 2020

Didn't doubt that for a second. I was (perhaps too grimly) pointing out the other meaning of the phrase as it relates to tanks.
posted by zamboni at 5:27 PM on May 17, 2020