Old Contemptibles

British  

plural noun

1. the British expeditionary force to France in 1914

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Etymology

Origin of Old Contemptibles

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

Example Sentences

To this day Britons who fought in France during 1914 proudly refer to themselves collectively, as "The Old Contemptibles."

From Time Magazine Archive

No one officially said where the B. E. F. was stationed, but everyone knew: on France's low-lying Belgian border from Lille to Hirson, right where the "Old Contemptibles" took their stand 25 years ago.

From Time Magazine Archive

A more serious error, and one which must delight the experts of psychological warfare, is the statement about the Old Contemptibles, "which the Kaiser scorned in 1914."

From Time Magazine Archive

Thus with proud self-derision the Old Contemptibles* of 1914 sang as they marched to battle.

From Time Magazine Archive

Yes, Mark, I know that some of your legions have nicknames like the Drunken Lions and the Snails, and that's about as insulting as calling the British Expeditionary Force the Old Contemptibles.

From The Big Time by Leiber, Fritz