CDI factor

English

Etymology

CDI (“chicks dig it”) +‎ factor

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

CDI factor (uncountable)

1. (US military or law enforcement slang) An intangible quality of certain items of professional equipment that is believed to stir inordinate interest in obtaining the item because it makes the possessor feel confident, cool and thus desirable to women.
   • 2007, Patrick Sweeney, The Gun Digest Book of the AR-15, Volume 2, Gun Digest Books, page 109:

     You don't buy a LaRue because you want lightweight. You buy it for the durability (And the CDI factor)

   • 2011, Paul R. Howe, Leadership and Training for the Fight: Using Special Operations Principles to Succeed in Law Enforcement, Business, and War, Skyhorse Publishing, page 12:

     Instead of donning their equipment for the right reasons, with the understanding that it takes thousands of hours to attain a basic skill level, some Special Operations soldiers wear their gear for the CDI (chicks dig it) factor and forget the reality that this is hard work.

   • 2012 July 17, “Uncloaked: How Army is testing new camo to replace flawed design”, in NBC News‎^[1]:

     'Never decide Pattern A just looks cooler than Pattern B. The Marine Corps call that a "CDI factor" – chicks dig it,' said Timothy O'Neill, a former professor of engineering psychology at West Point who has spent 37 years concocting and analyzing the latest in military camouflage

   • 2015, David G. Bolgiano, L. Morgan Banks, III, James M. Patterson, Virtuous Policing: Bridging America's Gulf Between Police and Populace, CRC Press, page 89:

     […] SWAT is a highly-specialized skill that takes recurrent (and expensive) training to maintain. Simply kitting out police officers in high-CDI-factor equipment is not enough.

Usage notes

Often has at least a slightly pejorative connotation when referring to equipment, suggesting that the items in question are overrated at best and useless at worst.

See also

• high speed, low drag
• mall ninja