Dictionary

paper general en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈpeɪpə ˈdʒɛn(ə)ɹəl/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈpeɪpɚ ˈdʒɛnəɹəl/ (General-American)

Meanings

1. (Singapore, derogatory) A person who, upon completion of a government scholarship to study in a university, is promoted to a high rank in the military despite the lack of combat experience.
   • Whenever Singaporeans talk about the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), the focus on our military leader's lack of real combat experience never fail to arise. Moreover, with the mediocrity of our paper generals on display for all to see, there is little wonder why Singaporeans doubt their capabilities. 2014 February 13, “The Unseen Singapore #20: Singapore's War Veterans”, in The Unseen Singapore:
   • To distract undue public scrutiny of the paper general, SAF officers – regular and otherwise -- were instructed to use their military rank before their names. 2003 September 25, Ah Seow, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet):
   • What’s worse about our system is that all the generals do not have any combat experience. These paper generals have been fast-tracked because of their stellar academic results and nothing else. 2015 January 7, “Paper Generals Should Be Left Out Of Politics”, in Rilek1Corner:
   • now, the cheebye-kia paper general (parasite-puppet) is parroting the old mother-f. so, is the mother-fugging paper general smart? 2011 July 4, decoy, soc.culture.singapore (Usenet):
   • So instead of calling out the nitty-gritty of political blunders by pinning the blame on the military, it’s time we look at the bigger picture and judge our paper generals on actual policy work. 2017 October 4, Benjamin Lim, “It Makes Perfect Sense that Generals Become Ministers”, in Yahoo Lifestyle:

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