Give us the gen

[moiflan]

Has anyone else heard of "gen"or "jen" as in "give me the gen"(news/gossip) or where the saying derived from?

[ubasses]

yes, frequently when I was working

[mike11111]

It is short for GENeral information

[HowardKennitby]

Chambers has 'gen' as a slang term for 'general information'

[moiflan]

Thought it may be that,thanks for confirming.

[Quizmonster]

Its earliest recorded use was in an RAF situation in 1940...ie Battle of Britain time. The Oxford English Dictionary also suggests that, apart from 'GENeral', there may be a connection with 'GENuine' or 'intelliGENce' as regards the information concerned.

[bibblebub]

it's used quite often in cryptic crosswords

[brionon]

Duff Gen is False information.

[B-HAVE]

Very common phrase in Glasgow