Doughboy: Military Expressions

doughboy to describe Civil War soldiers. But word expert Charles Funk says that early writer could not explain where the name started.

GI, or GI Joe.  Most people say the letters GI were a short way to say general issue or government issue. The name came to mean several things. It could mean the soldier himself. It could mean things given to soldiers when they joined the military such as weapons, equipment or clothes. And, for some reason, it could mean to organize, or clean.

We GI'd the place." And when an area looks good, soldiers may say the area is "GI." Strangely, though, GI can also mean poor work, a job badly done.

grunt. Nobody is sure of the exact beginning of the word. But, the best idea probably is that the name comes from the sound that troops make when ordered to march long distances carrying heavy equipment.

leatherneck.  It is thought to have started in the eighteen hundreds. Some say the name comes from the thick collars of leather early Marines wore around their necks to protect them from cuts during battles. Others say the sun burned the Marines' necks until their skin looked like leather.