What is a click?

Ever watch movies about the military? They always refer to a unit of linear measurement called a “click”. I have been wondering about this since I was a kid, what the hell is a “click”?

Ooh, ooh, I know this one.

Click = kilometer.

That’s a kilometer. Saving syllables could save your life!

And it sounds a lot more macho.

a kilometer.

a kilometer. How disappointing…

and it’s spelled “klick”, BTW. Minor nitpick.

When I was a Military Policeman in Germany (1988-1990) we could always tell the old-timers from their use of the word “klick”. Most of us younger guys used the word “kay” for kilometer but I must admit that we did occasionally use “klick”, most probably due to the more macho sound.

Give a bunch of 18-19 year old kids badges and guns and a certain level of machismo is pretty much unavoidable.

“klick = macho”

that’s why infantrymen use klick, cause ya can’t spell wimp without a MP.