>>>>You could call socks "military-grade" as well, and the only meaning that it really conveys is that it was cheap and barely functional enough to win a contra

>>>>You could call socks "military-grade" as well, and the only meaning that it really conveys is that it was cheap and barely functional enough to win a contract. "Cheap and barely functional enough to win a contract" = "government issue" My Fox River combat boot socks (my standard everyday sock even when not in uniform) are definitely not cheap and barely functional. But I otherwise agree with your overall point.