British military slang, particularly from the World War I and II era, meaning to be wounded by enemy fire or caught in an attack — to take a hit. A 'packet' in this context refers to something unpleasant delivered to you without warning, like a bullet or shell. The phrase has the characteristic British military understatement: describing being shot or blown up with the casual vocabulary of receiving a parcel. It can also extend to any sudden misfortune. The expression is largely historical now but appears often in wartime memoirs and period fiction.
The runner caught a packet crossing the open ground between the trenches.
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(military, slang, idiom) To be fired upon.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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