Civil War Slang and Its Meaning

Civil War Slang	Terms
40 Dead Men	Cartridge Box
All In Three Years	Said when something went wrong
Anything to Preserve the Union	The Yankee determination to win the war
Apple Lady	Hard Cider
Arkansas Toothpick	Knife
Artillery	Camp kettles, stoves, posts, tubs, iron foundations
Bark Juice	Liquor or strong adult beverage
Barrel Shirt	Barrel worn by thieves for punishment
Beehive	Knapsack
Been through the mill	Bad day
Blowhard	A big shot or braggart
Blue Jacket	Union sailor
Blue Mass	Refers to men on sick call; named after blue pil
Bluff	Cheater
Bombproofs	A shelter from artillery attacks
Bounty	Monetary sum of money for enlistment in the Army
Bragg's Body Guard	Body lice
Bread bag	Haversack
Bread basket	Stomach
Brevet	Awarded higher rank due to meritous service in combat
Bugger	Officer
Bull Pit	Under-arrest confinement area
Bully	Yeah or Hurrah!
Bumblebee	Sound of flying miniballs
Bummer	A loafer or forager
Bummer's Cap	Regulation fatigue or forage cap
Bust Head	Home-brewed or camp-brewed beer
Buttermilk Cavalry	Term infantry had for cavalry
Butternuts	Yellowish-brown dyed uniforms made of copperas and walnut hulls, when grey coloring was in short stock
Cabbaging	Term for stealing
Camp canard	False report believed by many in camp
Carte de Visite	Photograph on a small card
Cashier	Usually dishonorable dismissal from army
Chicken guts	Officer's gold braiding on his cuff
Chief cook and bottle washer	Person capable of doing many things
Chin Music	Term for conversation
Clink	Jail or prison; originates from a prison in London on Clink Street
Company Q	Term for the sick list
Conscription	To be drafted, not volunteered
Contrabands	Fugitive slaves who sought protection behind Northern lines
Coosh	Term for hard tack to describe when it was soaked in water and fried in bacon grease to make it edible
Copperhead	Northerner with Southern sympathies
Cracker line	Line of transportation of food supplies
Creeper	Soldier's frying pan used early in the war
Devil Fish	Term for fish-shaped Confederate torpedo
the Dictator	Seacoast mortar used during Petersburg siege
Diggings	Term for a Soldier's camp
Dog Collar	Army issued cravat
Dog Robber	Detailed cook from regular ranks
Done to a turn	Something had been completed or accomplished satisfactorily
Dragoon	Cavalry with firearms
Duds	Clothing
Durance Vile	Prison foul
Essence of Coffee	Civil War form of instant coffee
Fairy fleet	Boats carrying trade between sides at Fredericksburg
Fancy girl	Prostitute
Fast trick	Woman known for loose morals
Fighting under the black flag	Soldiers killing lice
Fire and fall back	To vomit
Fit as a fiddle	Healthy, feeling good
Fit to be tied	Angry
Flux	Diarrhea
Forlorn hope	Term for a party selected to begin an attack
French leave	AWOL
Fresh Fish	New recruit
Gal-boy	Term for an effeminate man or homosexual
Gallinippers	Insects or mosquitoes
Ginned cotton	Flower bread
Give the cold shoulder	Serving someone the shoulder of an animal cold to suggest that the house guest had over-extended his/her welcome
Giving the vermin a parole	Throwing away clothes infected with lice
Going down the line	Paying a visit to a brothel
Goober grabbers	Term for Georgia troops
Goober peas	Peanuts
Goobers	Peanuts
Gravel	Condition caused by lack of green vegetables
Greenbacks	Money
Greenhorn	Officer
Grey back	Term used by Northern troops for Confederates meaning lice
Hard case	Tough guy; someone who is rough and tough
Hard knocks	A tough break
Hayfoot, strawfoot	Command used to teach recruits difference between left and right
Here's your mule	Term infantry used to insult the cavalry because they didn't use their feet for their own transportation
Hoof it	To march
Hop, step, jump	Early 2-wheeled ambulance
Horizontal refreshments	Term meaning to have sexual relations with a prostitute
Hornets	Term for bullets as they whizzed past a person's head
Horse collar	Term for a soldier's blanket roll
Horse sense	Smart or on the ball
Hospital rats	Person who fakes an illness
Housewife	Sewing kit
How come you so	Home-brewed or camp-brewed beer or other alcoholic beverages
Hunkey dorey	Everything is great or terrific
Irish shanty	An outhouse
Iron clad possum	Armadillo dinner
I.W.	In the war
Jailbird	A criminal
Jawings	Talking
Jayhawked	Obtained without the knowledge or permission of the owner
Jeff Davis' Pets	Confederate western troop's name for A.N.V.
Jonah	Person who is perceived to be a jinx or carries bad luck with him
Let 'er rip	Go ahead and start
Little coot	Confederate slang for a Federal soldier
Long sweetening	Molasses
Lucifer	Match
Mind your beeswax	Pay attention to your own affairs and not others; beeswax was used to fill pock marks and when it was to hot or the lady was sitting near a fire the beeswax would melt and women were not supposed to call attention to another woman's problems
Mudsill	Unkind Southern term for a Northerner
Mule	Meat
Muster in, Muster out	Enlistment and Discharge
Night blindness	Condition caused by lack of green vegetables
Nob	A person who is superior or acts superior to others
Nokum stiff	Liquor or strong adult beverage
Oh-be-joyful	Home-brewed or camp-brewed beer or strong adult beverage
Oil of gladness	Home-brewed or camp-brewed beer or strong adult beverage
Old scratch	The Devil
Opening of the ball	Units waiting to move into battle
Paleface	A new recruit or fresh fish
Parley	Term for a conference from the French word "parler" meaning "to speak"
Parlor soldier	Insult for soldiers of little merit or worth
Patent Bureau	Knapsack
Peas on a trencher	Breakfast call
Pepperbox	Pistol
Pie eater	Man from a rural area
Possum	A buddy or friend
Pumpkin rinds	Grumpy term for Lieutenants; name comes from their shoulder straps
Quartermaster hunter	Shot or shell that passed overhead and far into the rear
Quick step	Diarrhea
Rag out	To dress well
Red Badge of Courage	Wounded
Riding a Dutch gal	To consort with a prostitute
Rio	Coffee
Roast beef	Noon meal
Rocks	Money
Robber's row	An area in Port Royal, South Carolina, where Southern soldier's went to an area owned by Sutlers, where troops would spend their pay on merchandise and get "robbed"
Salt horse	Pickled beef
Sand happers	Term for South Carolina soldiers
Sardine box	Cap box
Sawbones	Surgeon
Scarse as hen�s teeth	Something rare or scarce
Secesh	A Southern sympathizer or also the Northern term for seceders
Shakes	Malaria
Sham fight	Mock battle
Shebang	A shelter tent or a pup tent
Sheet iron cracker	Term for hard tack
Shin plasters	Term for paper money
Skedaddle	To run away or leave in a hurry
Skunk	Officer
Sleep tight	Term comes from the early rope beds during the Civil War that needed to be tightened with a key to keep tight
Smoked Yanks	Union soldiers cooking over a fire
Snug as a bug	Very comfortable
Soldier�s disease	Opium addiction or withdrawl symptoms of an opium addict because opium was used in hospitals to relieve the pain
Somebody�s darling	Said of a dead body
Sound on the goose	A wealthy or well-off Southerne
Sow belly	Bacon
Sparking	Kissing
Spondulix	Money
Sunday soldiers	Insult for soldiers of little merit
Sutler	Businessmen appointed to be camp vendors, who charged inflated prices on goods
Take an image	Have your picture taken
Tar water	Liquor
Teeth duller	Hard tack
They saw the Elephant	Experience in combat
Tight	Drunk
Toad sticker	Expression for a knife, bayonet or sword
To be mustered out	To be killed in action
Toeing the mark	Doing the job
Top rail	First class
To see the Elephant	Meaning not to receive what you were hoping for; short-changed or cheated
Traps	A soldier's belongings or equipment
Uppity	Term for someone who is conceited or believes himself to be above his status in life
Up the spout	When all cannons were loaded and ready to fire
Vanguard	In the front row of advancing troops
Wallpapered	Drunk
Web feet	Term cavalry had for infantry
Who wouldn�t be a soldier?	Who cares?
Worm Castle	Hard tack
Worth a goober	Something that amounts to a lot
Yellow hammers	Term for Alabama troops
Zu Zu	Zouave soldiers

	Civil War Slang and Its Meaning
	This page contains a listing of various Civil War Slang with the meaning of each. Do you think you would have understood what your ancestors meant by the slang terms they used? Read this list...you might just be surprised!