C rations

British  

plural noun

1. tinned food formerly issued in packs to US soldiers

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Etymology

Origin of C rations

C20: C(ombat) rations

Example Sentences

Wartime museums display the bland hardtack that sustained Civil War fighters, and the canned meats, breads and fruit of World War II, known as C rations.

From New York Times • Jun. 8, 2021

The feast, which some troops washed down with pungent Algerian wine liberated from the Cubans, even had a trickle-down effect for 100 local schoolchildren: they received C rations donated by U.S. soldiers.

From Time Magazine Archive

"You bet we are concerned!" says Bill Barth, president of Right Away Foods, an Edinburg, Texas, packer of C rations, which relies on the Pentagon for 95% of its revenues.

From Time Magazine Archive

From cannon barrels to C rations, from barbed wire to frozen beef, each day's cargo was somehow swung from ship to shore.

From Time Magazine Archive

After a meal of C rations, they’d turn in, still wearing their combat clothes and boots.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge