Old Contemptibles

plural noun

1. the British expeditionary force to France in 1914

Word History and Origins

Origin of Old Contemptibles¹

so named from the Kaiser's alleged reference to them as a ``contemptible little army''

Example Sentences

Indeed as the "Old Contemptibles" marched through Boulogne women stripped off their rings to give them to the marching soldiers.

From Project Gutenberg

A few may be toiling still, where the fighting is thickest, the last remnants of the “Old Contemptibles.”

From Project Gutenberg