Talk:Lock and load

The last two sentences don't really make sense. If the manual really does say to lock, then load - the phrase isn't a hysteron proteron. That would mean the original phrase "load and lock" is a hysteron proteron though.

I don't feel qualified to edit this, maybe someone else who knows more about it does.

You are absolutely correct (above). Hysteron proteron doesn't apply to "lock and load" if that is really the correct order. I think the hysteron proteron comment should be removed as it doesn't really add anything meaningful about the origin or history of the expression. Toledojohn 00:13, 4 April 2007 (UTC)Toledojohn

I have heard "lock and load" used on many different rifle ranges in the form of "lock and load one 20 round magazine." I always thought it meant to put the safety on, then insert the magazine. It's part of the litany of the rifle range. -Everyguy 02:20, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

---In Army basic training in the early 60s, when the M-14 rifle was still in use, the rifle range instructors repeatedly used the phrase "Lock and load: One live round." It meant: (1) Put the safety lock on your rifle; (2) insert the one "bullet" you have been issued; (3) await further instructions. As you can imaging, dealing with a couple dozen armed teenagers with little or no experience with firearms required caution. Only much later in training were the recruits allowed a full magazine of ammunition. Why the drill sergeants used the phrase "lock and load", I don't know. I suspect they were influenced by any number of things as others have suggested: the alliteration of it, the 'rock & roll' feel of the sound, the John Wayne reference, etc. Without such influences, they might just as well have said something like (1) Inspect your weapon to insure that the safety is on; (2) Insert in the chamber the live round of ammunition you have been issued; (3) Port-arms. Otto Partz 03:26, 29 October 2007 (UTC)

I have seen an explanation that seems to make a lot of sense. Excerpted from http://www.sproe.com/l/lock-and-load.html

''One explanation of the phrase comes from the actions needed to prepare a flint lock rifle for firing. In order to safely load a rifle of this type it was necessary to position the firing mechanism in a locked position, after which the gun powder and ball could be safely loaded into the rifle barrel without any chance of the rifle misfiring.''

Hence: First you lock the rifle, then you load it. JH443 (talk) 10:43, 27 November 2007 (UTC)

Expand, merge or redirect
Having removed some minor trivia and a couple of unsourced lines, what's left on this page is a dictionary definition (something which Wikipedia is not). It explains the meaning, etymology and usage examples of an expression. It is one of the best definitions I've read in a long time and discusses the etymology of the phrase in great detail and I've merged the best parts of this page to the Wiktionary page. (If I missed something important, please fix it.) But the definitions and usage discussions belong over in Wiktionary where folks with the right skills, interests and lexical tools can more easily sort out the meanings and origins. I can't find any encyclopedic content on this page. Nothing here rises past what I would expect to read in a truly great unabridged dictionary.

Options to fix the page here include:
 * 1) Expand the page with encyclopedic content - that is, content that goes well beyond the merely lexical.
 * 2) Redirect the page to a more general page.
 * 3) Replace the current contents with a soft-redirect to Wiktionary (usually done using the wi template).

Pending a better answer, I'm implementing option 3 for now. Rossami (talk) 06:18, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

It seems everyone has it wrong! The correct order is the word "lock, then the word "load". The problem is that no one seems to know that the command was " with ball ammunition, lock IN load" not "lock AND load".   the command was to lock in your load (your magazine)that is, lock your load (magazine) into your rifle.

Lock and Load
Lock means lock in the clip, load means to chamber the cartridge/bullet. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.210.25.201 (talk) 07:38, 29 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Maybe. See the Wiktionary page's section on conjectural etymologies.  Rossami (talk) 13:17, 29 July 2009 (UTC)