File 13 is a euphemism for the trash can. The phrase is especially used in the U.S. military, and is less common outside of the United States. In the United Kingdom, for instance, the expression "round file" or "circular file" is more common (in reference to trash cans typically being round). Expressions such as "I'll place that memo in file 13" are often heard in offices as a joking way of saying, "I'm going to throw away that memo."
Army Regulation 635-200 (Active Duty Enlisted Administrative Separations) Chapter 13 covers Separation for Unsatisfactory Performance. When a Soldier is removed from the military under this chapter and the paperwork is filed the slang term "File 13" refers to the action of filing the paperwork. Later, this term was adopted as a way to describe getting rid of a bad person or action. To File 13 paperwork was to get rid of it.
Read more about File 13: History, Usage in Popular Culture
Famous quotes containing the word file:
“While waiting to get married, several forms of employment were acceptable. Teaching kindergarten was for those girls who stayed in school four years. The rest were secretaries, typists, file clerks, or receptionists in insurance firms or banks, preferably those owned or run by the family, but respectable enough if the boss was an upstanding Christian member of the community.”
—Barbara Howar (b. 1934)