I don't really follow the 'Hold Fire' one? I've fired a variety of Black powder weapons from very plain medieval arrow gun, through Matchlock to Percussion cap, & though some have a
very slight delay between initiation and firing we're talking fractions of seconds, not something that would require a command?
If I ever thought it had anything other than a prosaic meaning I'd vaguely assume it related to Matchlocks and cannon linstocks, where one holds the burning match away from the touch-hole between shots?
In a spirit of further enquiry (Pedantry
) I also just read something using thermodynamics that implies low temperature metal differences alone is
very unlikely to ever freeze the iron balls from a Brass monkey... but a bit of ice and a rolling deck might just do it.
To add one; does 'Short Arm Inspection' count as slang?
Cheers,
Adam.