Regimental nicknames of the Canadian Forces

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Many regiments have over the years earned nicknames; some laudatory, some derogatory, but all colourful. Sometimes, the nicknames themselves have overshadowed the actual regimental title, e.g. the "Van Doos" for the Royal 22e Régiment. In some cases the nickname actually replaced it: in 1881, the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot became officially known by its nickname, The Black Watch.

What follows is a list of nicknames of Canadian regiments, arranged alphabetically by regimental title. A brief explanation of the origin of the nickname, where known, is included.

Contents

[edit] Regimental nicknames

[edit] #

  • 5th Field Regiment, RCA
    • Five Tribe[1]
  • 4th Air Defence Regiment, RCA
    • 4th Alcohol and Drug Regiment-a take on the acronym using 4AD, the Regimental Moniker1
  • 7th Toronto Regiment, RCA
    • 7 Guns
    • Seven Tor3, from "7 Tor Regt"
    • Seven RCA3, from "7 Tor Regt, RCA"
  • 12e Régiment blindé du Canada
    • 12th Rubber Boot Company4 – from “12e RBC”[2]
    • Douzième rangée de beaux caves4 – from “12e RBC”[3]
  • 1st Hussars
    • 1st Hosers2
  • 48th Highlanders of Canada
    • The Dirty Four Dozen[4], most likely a play on “The Dirty Dozen”, where “48” equals four dozen
    • The Glamour Boys –
      • According to Farley Mowat's The Regiment, the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment were known as "Ploughjockeys" due to their rural recruiting area, while the 48th Highlanders - who recruited from Toronto - were known as "Glamour Boys." This origin is also cited by the The War Amps[5]
      • An alternate explanation comes from the blue puttees they wore; during an inspection by King George VI in World War II, the Regiment wore blue puttees due to a shortage of khaki material. The King reputedly liked the blue puttees better than the khaki ones worn by the rest of the brigade, and authorized the Regiment to keep them. This is the origin cited by the Regiment itself.[6]
  • 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's)
    • The Crazy Eights – play on the regimental number and the card game[7]
  • The Algonquin Regiment
    • The Algoons1 – from World War II
    • The Gonks1

[edit] A-G

  • Canadian Special Operations Regiment
    • Canadian Soldier on the Run
    • Double-doubles, from the tan colour of their berets' resemblance to coffee with cream (a double-double is a Tim Hortons coffee with two measures of cream and two of sugar)
  • The Fort Garry Horse
    • The Garrys1
    • Fugahwees, informally, from the initials FGH, as in "where the fugahwe?"
  • The Governor General's Foot Guards
    • Guards.
    • Foot Guards.
    • GooGooFooGoos3, from “GGFG”.
    • God's Gift to Fat Girls, from “GGFG”.
    • Gustav Gone For Good - used after the Regiment left an 84 mm Carl Gustav anti-tank weapon by the side of a road after a weekend exercise and then drove off. When the mistake was realized, and a party sent to retrieve it, the weapon had vanished. Also Good God, Forgot the Gustav!
  • The Governor General's Horse Guards
    • God’s Gift to Horny Girls4, from “GGHG”
    • Gugga Huggas3, from “GGHG”
    • Gee Gee H Gees3, from "GGHG"
    • Gee Gees3, from "GGHG"
  • The Grey and Simcoe Foresters
    • Farmer Johns
    • The Gay and Simple Farmers2
    • The Green and Slimy Foreskins2

[edit] H-Q

  • The Nova Scotia Highlanders
    • Ladies from Hades — from the First World War; a jocular reference to their kilted battle dress and their fierce fighting.[1]
    • Highlanders - This name can also be applied to other Highland Regiments, but is used mainly to describe this regiment. The could also be derived from the common name(Highlander) of the unit's capbadge.
  • The Ontario Regiment
    • Ontars3 from “OntR”
    • Scaredy Cats- from the unit's cap badge; a cat with an arched back
    • Screaming Pussies, as above
    • Meow!
  • Princess Louise Fusiliers
    • The Prancing Little Fairies - used generally by the West Novies and Nova Scotia Highlanders
    • Flaming Testicle - taken from description of the regiments cap badge. Also same as above
  • Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
    • The Patricias1 - the preferred nickname among soldiers actually serving in, or who have served with, the regiment.
    • The Pats1
    • Princess Pat's1 - generally used only by the media.
    • The Picklies or Picks3, from “PPCLI”
    • Ping Pong Champions of Long Island2
    • Pud-Pulling Cowboys Learning Italian2 - extremely derogatory name that is both a mockery the Patricias' geographic location in Western Canada and an allusion to them being D-Day Dodgers.
    • VP - from Victoria Patricia, Regimental Matron. Often preceded by battalion number.
    • Peanuts, Popcorn, Candy, Licorice and Ice cream
  • The Princess of Wales' Own Regiment
    • The Pee-Dubs3, from the “PW” in “PWOR”

[edit] R-Z

  • The Rocky Mountain Rangers
    • Rim Rangs4
    • The Rocky Mountain Ram Fuckers Referring to the unit cap badge of the Big Horn Sheep
    • The Rocky Mountain Rabbit Rapers
  • Royal 22e Régiment
    • The Vandoos – from English corruption of the French “vingt-deux” for “twenty-two”
    • Les hosties de queues plates – (literally, "the communion wafer flat-tails". Better translated as "the damn flat-tails" - "hostie" is a mild and common Canadian French curse) from the beaver on the regimental badge. Seldomly used within the regiment or the 5e GBMC (Groupe-Brigade Mécanisé du Canada) anymore.
    • Les Vingt-Deux - the Twenty-Twos.
    • Régiment Canadien Français - literally, "French Canadian Regiment."
  • The Royal Canadian Dragoons
    • The RCDs - taken directly from their shoulder titles.
    • The Dragons - common non-service mispronouniation of the word. Known to irritate RCD troopers to no end, and thus, is sometimes used deliberately for that purpose.
    • Deer-Jumping Fairies - derogatory reference to the springbok in their badge. Usually used by Strats.
    • The Goons/ Da Goons2
    • Tin Can Commandos - not exclusively used in reference to the RCDs, but applied to the Armoured Corps in general. Jocular reference to their armoured vehicles.
  • The Royal Canadian Regiment
    • The Royals2 (also used to refer to The Royal Regiment of Canada
    • Run Chicken Run4 - A widely repeated but highly apocryphal story has the nickname resulting from a romantic liaison between a member of the regiment and a chicken. In reality, it probably stems from the fact that the chicken is the Regimental bird. Which explanation is offered usually depends on whether or not the person asked is a member of the regiment. Chickens feature greatly in the RCR nicknames, such as Rubber Chicken Regiment, etc.
    • Rocking Chair Rangers4
  • The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (Wentworth Regiment)
    • The Rileys3, from “RHLI”
  • The Royal Newfoundland Regiment
    • The Blue Puttees – name actually limited to the first 500 volunteers of the Newfoundland Regiment in 1914, as there was only blue broadcloth available to make puttees
  • The Royal Regiment of Canada
  • The Royal Regina Rifles
    • The Reginas1
    • The Farmer Johns – the majority of the first members of the Regiment were farm labourers
    • The Johns – derived from “The Farmer Johns”. and now the "official" unofficial nickname
  • The Royal Westminster Regiment
    • The Westies2
  • The Royal Winnipeg Rifles
    • Little Black Devils – Infantry of the line usually wore red coats, while Rifle units wore dark green - almost black - coats. After the Battle of Fish Creek during the Northwest Rebellion of 1885, a captured Métis asked, "The red coats we know, but who are those little black devils?" – hence also the Latin motto: “Hosti Acie Nominati”, “named by the enemy in battle”
    • Retards With Rifles 4
  • The Saskatchewan Dragoons
    • The Sask Buffoons2
  • The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada
    • The Seafroth2
    • The Gow Deeks – mispronounciation of the Scots Gaelic motto “Cuidich’n Righ”, “Help the King”
    • The Bullwinkles – based on the stag’s head of the cap badge supposedly resembling the cartoon character Bullwinkle J. Moose
    • The Horny Stags - a derogatory reference to the stag's head cap badge
  • The South Alberta Light Horse
    • The Sally Horse3, from the “SAL” in “SALH”
    • Sally'Ho3, with a play on the phrase "Tally-ho"
  • The Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders
    • The Glens2
    • Sand, Dust and Gravel4 from the “SD&G” in “SD&G Highrs” (also "Sand, Dirt and Gravel").
    • The STD's, also from "SD&G"
    • The Ladies from Hell from wearing their kilts to battle in WWII

[edit] Disbanded or inactive regiments

[edit] Notes

Note 1: – Shortening of the regiment’s name
Note 2: – Malapropism on the regiment’s name
Note 3: – Humorous pronunciation of the regiment’s official abbreviation
Note 4: – Redefinition of the regiment’s official short title - each regiment's official short title appears in correspondence as well as on embroidered titles on combat clothing. These abbreviations are often utilized to comic effect in the creation of nicknames.

[edit] Non-Regimental Nicknames

  • 5 Service Battalion
    • 5 Battalion, No Service - from '"5 BN S"' and soldiers' beliefs their individual needs can't always be met. Can be applied to any Service Battalion.
    • Circus Battalion2 - (derogatory name for any Service Battalion, regular or reserve). Usually employed by members to describe the lack of organisation that traditionally plagues these units, i.e. They bring big tents and are staffed by clowns.
    • 5 Battalion, No Service - play on battalion name and soldiers' beliefs their individual needs can't always be met. Can be applied to any Service Battalion.
  • The Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
    • The Maintainers
    • Dirty EeMEes - jocular reference to the technicians' having the dirtiest and greasiest jobs in the Army. Later reclaimed by EME technicians to describe being "dirty" in another usage of the word.
    • Les Mécanos - used in French to describe any EME technician, mechanic or otherwise.
  • CF Intelligence Branch
    • Green Slime - green formerly being the Corps colour of the Royal Canadian Intelligence Corps.
  • CF Logistics Branch
    • The Logs taken directly from their shoulder titles - both English and French.
    • Blanket Stackers - derogatory slang taken from the British Army nickname for the Royal Logistics Corps.
    • The Paperclip Badges - from the resemblance of the two chain links in their cap badge to two linked paperclips.
    • Bin Rats - referring to the general assumption made by members of other branches that Logistics members root through the boxes of the newest and shiniest kit available, leaving the remainder for the front-line soldiers.
  • CF Medical Branch
    • Pecker Checkers - as soldiers tend to put things where they shouldn't.
  • Military Police
    • Thunder Chickens - from the branch cap badge a Thunderbird.
    • Meatheads - general nickname for Military Police. There are two possible explanations: the first being the obvious derogatory meaning of the word or; a metaphorical reference to their red berets. Most CF personnel seem to concur that the former is much more likely to be the origin of the name than the latter.
  • The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps
    • Tankies
    • Zipperheads
  • The Royal Canadian Infantry Corps
    • Crunchies - from the sound they make when vehicles drive over them also known as Speed Bumps for the same reason.
    • Knuckle Draggers
    • Grunts
    • Infantards
    • Pongos
    • SPUTS - from Self-propelled Pop-Up Targets
  • The Communications and Electronics Branch
    • Jimmys - nickname for Signallers, from the figure of Mercury on their capbadge, commonly referred to as "Jimmy". Used mainly in the reserves.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Wilcox, Jack. "When kilted Bluenoses halped forge a nation". The Halifax Herald, 5 June 2004.

[edit] References

  • Mowat, Farley (1955). The Regiment. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart.

[edit] See also

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