Note: Much Great War slang originated with the colonial troops of various European nations. For this list I have tried to include only the new words, that is, the words that originated during the Great War or as a result of it. I tried not to duplicate the words that are already in my Colonial lists, so if you don't see a familiar word or phrase here, try my Colonial Glossary.
British Phonetic Alphabets 1904-1926
Great War Main Page
| Abdul | Australian - Turkish soldier |
| ACK EMMA | British - AM (ante meridiem), morning . The spoken letters of the phonetic alphabet. |
| Adrian helmet | French - Helmet that replaced the kepi in 1915 and was kept in service until WW2. It had a raised crest along the top. Used by Italy and several other nations also. Named for its inventor, August-Louse Adrian. |
| Alleyman | British - a German (from French Allemand, German) |
| anarchists | British - Early name for grenadiers (bombers). |
| Antonio | British - A Portuguese soldier |
| Anzac | Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. A soldier from one of those two countries (1915) |
| Anzac soup | Australian - a water-filled shell hole with a corpse floating in it |
| Aussie | Australian - An Australian soldier. Also, a wound sufficiently bad to get a soldier shipped back to Australia. |
| banjo | Australian - entrenching tool or shovel |
| banquette | British - A raised way or fire-step along the inside of a trench . Allowed soldiers inside a trench to step up and fire their rifles then step back down to avoid return fire. |
| barrage | French - Artillery fire put down in a line or 3-sided box shape to prevent enemy forces from reinforcing or counterattacking. Later, any large amount of fire. [tir de barrage, barrier fire, from barrer, to bar, 1915] |
| base rat | British - A soldier who stayed in the rear and somehow never made it to the front. |
| base wallah | British - A soldier who stayed in the rear and somehow never made it to the front (see wallah in the Colonial list). |
| Beachy Bill | Australian - a Turkish gun that regularly shelled the beach at Gallipoli . |
| beetle | Australian - a landing craft that carried 200 soldiers |
| berm | British - a narrow shelf cut into a trench parapet sometimes used as a table to hold ammo or equipment. (from French, berme) |
| bleue horizon | French - The color of the light blue uniforms that replaced the 1914-15 red pants and dark blue coats. |
| Blighty | British - England, or a wound sufficiently bad to get a soldier shipped back to England. (From Hindustani, Bilayati, foreign land) |
| Boche | French - A derogatory name for Germans (from tete de boche, a stubborn or obstinate person) |
| body-snatcher, a | British - a stretcher bearer. Also, a member of a raiding party (required to bring back prisoners for information) |
| brass hat | British - Gold decoration worn on the hats of high-ranking officers and therefore the officer himself. |
| Brodie helmet | British - (1915) The famous "soup-bowl" helmet. Upgraded to the Mark I version in 1916. Used by US and Portuguese troops also. Named for its inventor, John L. Brodie. |
| bully beef | British - corned beef in a can. The main ration of the British army along with hard tack. (from French boeuf bouilli , boiled beef, prewar usage) |
| bumf | British - Toilet paper or anything used as such. Also used to refer to military forms and red tape. (bum fodder, 17th century) |
| buzzer | British - A electric device used for Morse code. Also, later, a field telephone. (1910) |
| cage | British - Also bird-cage, a prisoner of war camp (16-17th century) |
| canned | US - drunk (1910) |
| chat | British - a louse |
| civvy | British - Civilian or to be wearing civilian clothing (1889) |
| cootie | British - Louse (possibly from Malay kutu [1917]) |
| corduroy tracks | Wooden roads made up of tree limbs or lumber placed over especially muddy areas to permit the movement of troops and vehicles. |
| digger | Australian - Anzac soldier, especially an Australian. (possibly referring to gold miners) |
| dixie | British - Mess tin used for cooking (Hindustani deachi, small pot) |
| doughboy | US - an American infantryman, a pre-war word but associated especially in World War I (circa 1847) |
| duckboard | British - wooden flooring used on the bottoms of trenches (1917) |
| dud | British - A shell or bomb that failed to explode. |
| dugout | British - An underground shelter or a hole dug into the side of a trench for quarters, storage, or protection [1819] |
| ersatz | British - German reserves (German for an inferior substitute; [1875]) |
| fag | British - Cigarette. (from fag end [c.1888]) |
| fleabag | British - sleeping bag. |
| Fritz | British - a German |
| funk | British - fear, nervousness, or depression. |
| gasper | British - cigarette. |
| Gyppo | British - Egyptian. |
| go west | British - To be killed or to die. A popular euphemism. |
| gorblimey | British - canvas service cap (from the Cockney expression, "God blind me") |
| gum boots | British - Rubber boots for wearing in flooded trenches. |
| Heimschuss | German - A wound sufficiently bad to get a soldier shipped back to Germany. |
| Heinie | British - a German (possibly from the name Heinrich) |
| Hun | British - A German. Commonly used as in "The Hun is up to something". (When sending troops to China during the Boxer Rebellion, Kaiser Wilhelm II told them to act like the Huns of old and wreak vengeance.) |
| Jacko | Australian - (Johnny) Turk |
| Jerry | British - A German. Used late in WWI but much more common in WWII. |
| K of K | British - Kitchener of Khartoum. Field Marshal Lord Horatio Herbert Kitchener - Minister for War in 1914. The man in the famous recruiting poster. |
| Kamerad | German - comrade. Called out especially when attempting to surrender to Allies. |
| Kiwi | Anzac - A New Zealander ( from the New Zealand bird of that name) |
| Kraut | US - A derogatory name for Germans (from German sauerkraut, sour cabbage) |
| Lucifer | British - a match. The name of a popular brand. |
| Meinenhund | German - "mine dogs", dogs used to carry explosives and equipment into mines and saps. |
| mufti | British - Civilian clothes. (From Arabic mufti, free.) |
| nix | US - Nothing, no (from German nichts) |
| napoo | British - finished, empty, gone (From French "il n'y en a plus", the answer shop owners gave they were asked for more drink and had none) |
| Old Contemptibles | British - 1914 British Expeditionary Force (BEF). From the Kaiser's statement that the German Army in Belgium was being delayed by 'Sir John French's contemptible little army'. |
| old sweat | British - A veteran soldier. |
| on the wire | British - Left on the enemy barbed wire after an attack. Missing or killed in action. |
| over the top | British - To attack, to go over the top of the trench parapet. |
| Pickelhaube | German - The distinctive early war helmet with a spike on top. |
| PIP EMMA | British - Afternoon. PM (post meridiem). The spoken letters of the phonetic alphabet. |
| poilu | French - soldier. French soldiers themselves preferred les hommes or les bonhommes. (French, from poilu hairy, from Middle French, from poil hair, from Latin pilus ) |
| rookie | British - A recruit or new man (from recruit). |
| Sammy | British - Early name for American soldiers. (from Uncle Sam) |
| sap | British - A listening post in No Man's land. |
| short arm inspection | British - medical inspection of the a soldier's penis to look for cases of VD. |
| short one | British - A shell fired by friends or allies that hits or almost hits friendly troops. |
| squaddie | British - A member of a squad. |
| squarehead | British - A German. Based on the shape of the M.1916 German helmet. |
| strafe | German - punish. To machine gun ground troops from an airplane. (From the propaganda slogan "Gott strafe England", God punish England [1915]. |
| Stahlhelm | German - Helmet that replaced the Pickelhaube in 1916. Upgraded to Model 1918. |
| storm troops | Used by most nations in a vain attempt to defeat enemy trenches. Specially equipped and trained to lead their side's assaults. Germans were called Stosstruppen, British, grenadier parties, Italians, death companies. |
| Sturmbataillons | German - Assault units. Small units that were specially equipped and trained to infiltrate and penetrate enemy trenches. The origin of Blitzkrieg tactics of WW2. |
| Tommy | British - Army soldier. (From Tommy Atkins, the universal British soldier.) |
| trench coat | British - Long raincoat. |
| trench foot | British - A very painful foot condition, much like frostbite, produced by long hours of standing in cold water in trenches. Often caused more casualties than enemy fire. (1915) |
| Woodbine | British - A brand of cheap cigarettes. |
| Yank | British - American soldier. (From Yankee) |