You're in the army now!

You're in the army now!

A reference to the intensity and rigidity that accompanies military training that a new recruit is going to face. You've left the cushy life of a college student behind, kid—you're in the army now!See also: army

You're in the army now!

Shape up—things are done differently here. One of the stock comedy bits in World War II movies was the rude awakening that recruits received during basic training. Any buck private who tried to oversleep or do anything else that wasn't according to military procedure would be chewed out by his drill sergeant, with an unceremonious, “Hey, you ain't no civilian no more, mister—you're in the army now!” The phrase followed the soldiers home, and well into the '50s anyone who was corrected by an ex-GI was liable to be told, “Do it right, mister—you're in the army now!”See also: army