noun
General Slang
gen
· noun · military
Information — and you want it pukka, not duff.
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Definitions
1
Information, the facts, the actual story. What you need to know about a mission, a posting, a new aircraft. Survives in British English well outside the forces ('what's the gen on the new boss?').
“Give me the gen on tomorrow's sortie before I brief the lads.”
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2
'Pukka gen': solid, reliable information — straight from the source. From Hindi 'pakka' (proper, genuine).
“It's pukka gen — the orders came down from Group this morning.”
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3
'Duff gen': bad information, a rumour, something you've been fed wrong. Will get you killed if you act on it.
“Whoever told you the runway was clear gave you duff gen.”
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gen In A Sentence
Give me the gen on tomorrow's sortie before I brief the lads.
It's pukka gen — the orders came down from Group this morning.
Whoever told you the runway was clear gave you duff gen.
Origin & Usage
RAF, WWII. Short for 'general information' (from the standard 'for the general information of all ranks' that headed station notices) — or possibly from 'genuine'. Both etymologies are still argued.
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