Old Contemptibles
Britishplural noun
Etymology
Origin of Old Contemptibles
so named from the Kaiser's alleged reference to them as a ``contemptible little army''
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
To this day Britons who fought in France during 1914 proudly refer to themselves collectively, as "The Old Contemptibles."
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
They were ill-trained and vitiated by appeasement when war came, not unlike the "Old Contemptibles" which the Kaiser scorned in 1914.
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 Fritz Leiber
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