Taps - What does it mean?
At the very beginning of the 1981 movie Taps, George C. Scott reads from the Book of Remembrance. This book contains all of the soldiers from Bunker Hill Academy (not sure if that's a real school or not) who have died in wars. After each name, he mentions the place they died and then says, "Taps" and the date of their death. i.e. "Thomas, John H., Class of '22, Okinawa, Japan, Taps September 10, 1942."
The only information I could find on "Taps" relates to the bugle call. Does "Taps" have some other meaning? What does it mean in the context of that segment of the movie?
Best Answer
Some believe "Taps" is an acronym. It is not an acronym, the origin of the word more than likely was derived from the three drum taps that were played signaling "Extinguish Lights".
While "Taps" is played at Military funerals, it is also played at US Military bases and barracks to signal soldiers that it is time for bed or lights out.
Both my Father and my Husband had served in the United States Military. They both had informed me that while in boot camp, the "Taps" story was passed onto them. The following from the US Military corroborates the story that they both told to me:
In July of 1862, in the aftermath of the bloody Seven Days battles of the Civil War, hard on the loss of 600 men and wounded himself, Union General Daniel Adams Butterfield called the brigade bugler to his tent. He thought "Lights Out" was too formal and he wished to honor his men.
Scott says "Taps" after each man's name to both honor and mourn them. When "Taps" is being played at a Military base or barracks to signal lights out, soldiers are to take that time to remember those that have fallen before them.
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What does Taps mean in slang?
(slang, vulgar, transitive) To have sexual intercourse with. quotations \u25bcsynonyms \u25b2 Synonyms: go to bed with, hit, sleep with, wap; see also Thesaurus:copulate with. I would tap that hot girl over there. I'd tap that.What does Taps into mean?
(tap into something) to understand and express something such as people's beliefs or attitudes. the senator's ability to tap into the American psyche. Synonyms and related words. To understand something. understand.What does 3 Taps mean in military?
The tradition of playing taps at military funerals is said to have begun during the Civil War, when the opposing front lines were near enough to each other that the firing of three volleys at a burial, still an American military tradition today, may have caused the enemy to think an attack was underway.What is Taps?
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Answer 2
As a child in England, I was told that it meant that as day's end approached, military camp guards would assume their posts on the camp's perimeter when the heard the heard the bugler sound TAPS, TO ALL POSTS, SENTRIES!
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