There is an idiom that seems to be distinctly British: "—- this for a game of soldiers" where the dashes are replaced with various swear words. For example: "Sod this for a game of soldiers." It usually seems to involve profanity but there are some cleaned-up variations such as "Stuff this for a game of soldiers."
The basic meaning is clear: "—- this" expresses disapproval of a situation. But I'm curious about the modifying phrase.
My guess, and it is only a guess, is that the phrase is expressing a preferred alternative. "—- this, I would prefer to play a game of soldiers." My reason for this is that there is an alternative formulation, "—- this for a lark" where "a lark" means "a fun and carefree activity".
I have done Google searches and haven't found any authoritative source. Most sources seem to agree that there is a meaning of "this activity is not worth the trouble" or possibly "this activity is no longer worth the trouble".
I have found several sources suggesting that "game of soldiers" is somehow referring to the unpleasantness of war, which would suggest the meaning "—- this, the current situation has become an unpleasant one." But this seems highly unlikely to me as the related phrase cannot possibly be construed that way: a "lark" is never an unpleasant situation.
What does it mean? And where did it originate, did this come from the military, or what?
EDIT: Since posting this, I have come to think that maybe the overall sense of the phrase is "this activity is not worth my time," which may be a British understatement for some usages. (I saw this phrase in a web comic where explosions started happening and a character ran for his life shouting "Sod this for a game of soldiers!") "a game of soldiers" and "a lark" might both simply be metaphors for an activity with no real benefit. Thus, if someone waits for almost an hour for a late friend and then says "—- this for a game of soldiers" it could mean "to continue waiting would be as unprofitable a use of my time as playing soldiers" or more simply "— this, it's not a good use of my time."
Best Answer
I always understood this to mean "this is no fun and a waste of time" and that the "game of soldiers" or "lark" we thought it would be - has turned into something far less fun. I.e. "this is a rubbish game of soldiers" "this is no fun if it's supposed to be a lark" The "Sod this/blow this/ ___ this" is meaning "who the hell thought this would be a good game of soldiers.