Ten-hut

Ten-hut is an American military term that means "come to attention!"
History
"Ten hut" is a shortened form of "a-ten-hut" and came into use because it is easier to say at full shout than "attention."

There are two parts to most command phrases. The preparatory command and the "command of execution". For instance, in the command "stand at, ease!" the preparatory command is "stand at", followed by a period of silence (the length is up to the discretion of the officer giving the order) and then the execution command: "ease".
If one were to come to the position of "at ease" before the command of execution were issued, one would be said to "anticipate the command". Such an action is considered to be a failure to follow orders.
Variations
The United States Air Force uses a similar variation to the term. Instead of "Ten-hut", the term "Tench-hut" is used.

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