Improvised Explosive Device (IED)

Kán-ī pho̍k-chà chong-tì

Kán-īⁿ pho̍k-chà chong-tì

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Choè-kīn tī Sin-ha̍k-sū kū-siū Marjah ê kun-sū hêng-tōng tiong, Iú-thú cheng-chhat-ki tī tō-lō͘ siōng kap ti̍t-seng-ki ū-tēng ê kàng-lo̍h tē-tiám chhoē tio̍h chiong-kūn 150 ê khó-gî ê kán-ī pho̍k-chà chong-tì ê iám-mâi-tiám.

During recent military action in the traditional Taliban stronghold of Marjah, the U2 reconnaissance plane found the locations of close to 150 suspected IEDs buried on roads and designated helicopter landing zones.

Pearls before swine

Siù-châi tú-tio̍h peng, ū oē kóng bē chheng

Literally: “When the talented scholar meets the soldier, he can’t explain things to him (because the soldier can’t understand the words of the scholar)”

A little window into the Chinese view of soldiering.

(Of a school) hard to gain admission to

Pháiⁿ ji̍p-o̍h

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Bí-kok Kun-sū Ha̍k-īⁿ sī Bí-kok siōng pháiⁿ ji̍p-o̍h ê tāi-ha̍k.

The United States Military Academy is the hardest college to get into in the U.S.

Veterans Day

(Bí-kok) Thè-ngó͘ kun-jîn chiat

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Tōa kūi-bô͘∙ phò-hōai bú-khì

Tōa kūi-bô͘∙ hāi-sèng bú-khì

Divide and conquer; set two groups against each other

Lāng káu sio kā

Literally: “Make the dogs bite each other”

The First Sino-Japanese War

Kah-ngó· Chìan-cheng [甲午戰爭]

Cede (territory) to

Koah-nīu

Kā Tâi-oân koah-nīu hō· Ji̍t8-pún

Cede Taiwan to Japan

Come and take it

Hun-lī-phài ê lâng

Separatist