The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1917-09-29
WHERE SOME MECHANICS GIVEN WORLDS
FIGHTING MEN HAD ORIGIN

VIII 1t be Probably not. The
history of slang shows that nicknames of soldiers
Cor anything else) come from the soldiers them
selves, or very often from the enemy. 1t apparent
ly has occurred to nobody who writes letters to
the newspapers that the American soldier has
gone through several wars without any fixed
slang name such as the English soldiers Tommy
Atkins.
Most of the letters advocate the Sammy ap-
pendage. Who started 1t nobody knows. Prob
ably the idea of Sammy after Uncle Sam broke
out in eruption in several quarters at the same
time. Word from France says that the men OF
the Pershing expedition do not like the idea.
Sammy or any word ending in the affectionate
diminutive to the American mind is unmanly.
That is not so in England and British possessions.
Tommy Atkins" sprang, according to well-es-
tablished reports, from q word written on a sam
pie form of application to the British army. It
represented the British John Doe" And anyway
Tommy applies only to the English soldier, usu-
ally a little fellow, and not to the big-boned CO.
lonials, Scotch "Kilties' or Irish Dragons or
Fusiliers.
With Sammy as a basis the letter writers next
decided on Samson as a fitting name-less eff
Terminate. The Sons of Sam-Uncle Sam'-hne
and manly, they argued. But Samsons didn't
stick either. Then many advocated "Yanks' from
Yankees, the old Civil war nickname for the Union
troops. That, Of course, did not appeal to the
Southerners. Somebody wrote in that Yanks
hiN I ~ SNhN AohhSS NoLAC " Ill AhbhdA
word which meant coward. That isn't shown by
Webster, who gives a dozen other theories about
the origin Of Yankee. Like all other slang words
it comes from so far back that nobody's memory
would serve in untangling the mystery.
In the Civil war the Northerners were yankees"
or "Yanks," meaning properly in the States a
New Highlander, but a word applied abroad to all
Americans. The Southerners were "Rebs," from
rebels. or Johnny Rebs." 1t is apparent that
each got his name from the enemy. So In the
Mexican war the only slang name the American
soldiers had was ~"gringo," also given to him by
the enemy. "Gringo' means nothing In Spanish.
The Australian and New Zealand soldiers of the
British army have been dubbed "Anzac," a combi-
nation of the initial letters Of Australian and New
Zealand army corps. The Scotch retain their name
of "kilties," of course, from the kits they wear.
The German soldiers are said to call them "the
ladies of hell" but that was too long a title to re-
main, although 1t probably pleased the "kilties."
There has been much discussion about "boche,"
the name for the German soldiers, and ''poilu," the
French soldier. "Boche' is French slang. and its
birth is clothed in mystery almost always sur
rounding a slang word. 1t means a most despicable
sort Of person and is an insult.
In that connection the American army already
has its slang term for an infantrymRn. It 10
used commonly In the army, but generally I'M
known to the civilian. The term IL "doughboy,"
Since "doughboy" long has been an American In
fantryman the United States army already has az
explicit a slang term as the French army has in
'pollu." "Doughboy" Is In Webster az meaning
an infantryman In the United States.
Probably "doughboy,' by reason Of its use and
popularity In the American army, will become the
general word for the American soldier before tina
war is over. "Gringo" also may become common
usage. for the American soldiers have seen 80
much service In and near Spanish speaking coun-
tries that they often refer to themselves in fun Us
'gringos."--New York Herald.