# Without checking any reference source: define and give the significance of the word "blitzkrieg." **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 23, 2014, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-checking-any-reference-source-define-and-give-the-significance-of-the-word-blitzkrieg/686798 "2014-04-23T19:37:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-checking-any-reference-source-define-and-give-the-significance-of-the-word-blitzkrieg/686798/61 "2014-04-24T01:53:34Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Anyway: without checking any reference source other than your own brain, what does the word “blitzkrieg” mean, what language does it come from, and what is its historical significance? German. Its historical significance was blowing shit up during WWII. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-checking-any-reference-source-define-and-give-the-significance-of-the-word-blitzkrieg/686798/62 "2014-04-24T02:02:25Z")
Iz German for ze “lightning war”. Ze combinzed arms of Panzers (tanks), Luftwaffe (air), Panzergrenadier (mechanized infantry) and Farfegnugen. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-checking-any-reference-source-define-and-give-the-significance-of-the-word-blitzkrieg/686798/63 "2014-04-24T02:29:52Z")
> [@OneCentStamp](#): > > Without checking any reference sort: define and give the significance of the word “shibboleth.” > > _Asking the SDMB a medium-easy factual question._ Discussed in [this recent post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=17271469&postcount=75). ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-checking-any-reference-source-define-and-give-the-significance-of-the-word-blitzkrieg/686798/64 "2014-04-24T02:31:55Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Discussed in [this recent post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=17271469&postcount=75). That’s awesome. 😉 However, what I was actually saying is that a medium-to-easy factual question **is** our shibboleth; we’ll cheerfully line up to answer it and prove we’re real [del]Israelites[/del] Dopers. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-checking-any-reference-source-define-and-give-the-significance-of-the-word-blitzkrieg/686798/65 "2014-04-24T02:33:43Z")
> [@VunderBob](#): > > Uhh, from German: “Lightning War”. > > Describes the German strategy of a massive and unstoppable invasion of another country. That. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-checking-any-reference-source-define-and-give-the-significance-of-the-word-blitzkrieg/686798/66 "2014-04-24T02:40:29Z")
How and why did **Ellen Cherry** edit the OP’s OP? ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-checking-any-reference-source-define-and-give-the-significance-of-the-word-blitzkrieg/686798/67 "2014-04-24T02:43:21Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > How and why did **Ellen Cherry** edit the OP’s OP? Because his original title said “any reference _sort_,” rather than “_source_,” which is what he pretty clearly intended. I assume he self-reported the post and asked her to change it for him. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-checking-any-reference-source-define-and-give-the-significance-of-the-word-blitzkrieg/686798/68 "2014-04-24T14:47:36Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > “Shitstorm” / German / German nighttime bombing raids on London, WW2. > [@elfkin477](#): > > German. Its historical significance was blowing shit up during WWII. _Blitz_ in German, meaning “lightning”: by my understanding, _Blitzkrieg_ = initially (as referenced in the thread), conquest by overrunning territory with rapid / concentrated / devastating force. The British seem to have borrowed the word to use it to refer particularly to heavy aerial bombing onslaughts: in Brit-speak, “the Blitz” refers first and foremost to the German air force’s to-the-max bombing offensive on Britain – above all, on London – in 1940 / 41, and sporadically recommenced at later times in the war. General implication of the word in British English would seem to be, “nasty intensive war-waging kind of stuff, especially if done from the air”. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-checking-any-reference-source-define-and-give-the-significance-of-the-word-blitzkrieg/686798/69 "2014-04-24T16:06:15Z")
Literally ‘Lightening Wall’; German interior designers in the 1940s felt their houses were far too dingy. How did I do? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-checking-any-reference-source-define-and-give-the-significance-of-the-word-blitzkrieg/686798/70 "2014-04-24T16:18:59Z")
Blitzkreig is German. Means lightning war. It refers to Germany’s used of tanks and mechanized infantry divisions to attack and overwhelm opponents before they can prepare a defense. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-checking-any-reference-source-define-and-give-the-significance-of-the-word-blitzkrieg/686798/71 "2014-04-24T16:29:07Z")
It means something like “fast, lightning quick strike” Its German In WW2, the German airforce Luftwaffe self-described their many raids on London as a blitzkrieg Did I get it right? 😛 … Alright, mostly right! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-checking-any-reference-source-define-and-give-the-significance-of-the-word-blitzkrieg/686798/72 "2014-04-24T18:14:10Z")
German, WWII, “lightning war”, to counterpoint Sitzkrieg, the “sitdown war”. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-checking-any-reference-source-define-and-give-the-significance-of-the-word-blitzkrieg/686798/73 "2014-04-24T19:08:38Z")
It’s a Swahili term meaning, “the fog sits lightly o’er the forest”, used metaphorically to describe a situation in which each member of a group thinks somebody else was responsible for bringing doughnuts. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-checking-any-reference-source-define-and-give-the-significance-of-the-word-blitzkrieg/686798/74 "2014-04-24T20:09:38Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > German, WWII, “lightning war”, to counterpoint Sitzkrieg, the “sitdown war”. I can’t believe noone else mentioned sitzkrieg. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-checking-any-reference-source-define-and-give-the-significance-of-the-word-blitzkrieg/686798/75 "2014-04-24T20:14:50Z")
> [@OneCentStamp](#): > > Without checking any reference sort: define and give the significance of the word “shibboleth.” > > _Asking the SDMB a medium-easy factual question._ It’s from the Bible (the Old Testament). One tribe was sending people to spy on another tribe. But the first tribe had a different accent and pronounced “sh” as “s”. So the second tribe had strangers say shibboleth. If they said sibboleth, they were killed. It became a metaphor for a characteristic which defines the difference between the members of two groups. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-checking-any-reference-source-define-and-give-the-significance-of-the-word-blitzkrieg/686798/76 "2014-04-24T20:15:18Z")
_Blitzkrieg_ is German for Lightning War. This was the strategy the Germans used in WWII that involved beginning a war by throwing everything they had into the first, sustained attack. Infantry, tanks & aerial bombardment… ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-checking-any-reference-source-define-and-give-the-significance-of-the-word-blitzkrieg/686798/77 "2014-04-24T20:17:32Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > It’s from the Bible (the Old Testament). One tribe was sending people to spy on another tribe. But the first tribe had a different accent and pronounced “sh” as “s”. So the second tribe had strangers say shibboleth. If they said sibboleth, they were killed. It became a metaphor for a characteristic which defines the difference between the members of two groups. 😃 Very nice, but I was actually answering my own question; I was saying that asking a (relatively) softball factual question here **is** our shibboleth, as Dopers cheerfully line up to prove how smart we are. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-checking-any-reference-source-define-and-give-the-significance-of-the-word-blitzkrieg/686798/78 "2014-04-24T20:27:54Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Re: Sherman vs Jackson - Sherman’s March to the Sea was about destroying everything in his path, not so much speed to bust through enemy lines. Stonewall Jackson led the Valley Campaign, which could (at a superficial level) be compared to Blitzkrieg. > > But the more likely explanation is that the memo writer had no clue. I’d call Sherman’s march more of a Scorched Earth Advance… ---
**Author:** ![wellanuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@wellanuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wellanuff)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-checking-any-reference-source-define-and-give-the-significance-of-the-word-blitzkrieg/686798/79 "2014-04-24T20:36:33Z")
It’s a powerful light that has been jury-rigged to cook crepe-like pancakes. Did I get it right? ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-checking-any-reference-source-define-and-give-the-significance-of-the-word-blitzkrieg/686798/80 "2014-04-24T20:43:04Z")
“Lightning war” German armor strategy/doctrine in WWII. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-checking-any-reference-source-define-and-give-the-significance-of-the-word-blitzkrieg/686798.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/without-checking-any-reference-source-define-and-give-the-significance-of-the-word-blitzkrieg/686798.md?page=5)