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A sobriquet is a nickname or a fancy name, usually a familiar name given by others as distinct from a pseudonym assumed as a disguise, but a nickname which is familiar enough such that it can be used in place of a real name without the need of explanation. This salient characteristic, that is, of sufficient familiarity, is most easily noted in cases where the sobriquet becomes more familiar than the original name for which it was formed as an alternative. For example, Genghis Khan, who is rarely recognized now by his original name "Temüjin"; and the British Whig party, which acquired its sobriquet from the British Tory Party as an insult.

Two early variants are found, sotbriquet and soubriquet; the latter form is still often used, though it is not the correct modern French spelling. The first form suggests a derivation from sot, foolish, and briquet, a French adaptation of Ital. brichetto, diminutive of bricco, ass, knave, possibly connected with briccone, rogue, which is supposed to be a derivative of Ger. brechen, to break; but Skeat considers this spelling to be due to popular etymology, and the real origin is to be sought in the form soubriquet.

Littré gives an early 14th century soubsbriquet as meaning a chuck under the chin, and this would be derived from soubs, mod. sous (Lat. sub), under, and briquet or bruchel, the brisket, or lower part of the throat.

Sobriquets are often found in politics. Candidates and political figures are often branded with sobriquets, either contemporarily or historically. For example, American President Abraham Lincoln came to be known as Honest Abe. Sobriquets are not always used to highlight virtuous qualities, either. A banking tycoon and politician from Knoxville, Tennessee named Jake Butcher was known as "Jake the Snake" after being indicted and subsequently convicted for bank fraud.

Fowler's Modern English Usage (1926) warned, "Now the sobriquet habit is not a thing to be acquired, but a thing to be avoided; & the selection that follows is compiled for the purpose not of assisting but of discouraging it." Fowler included the sobriquet among what he termed the "battered ornaments" of the language.

Contents 1 Well-known sobriquets 1.1 A-C 1.2 D-G 1.3 H-M 1.4 N-S 1.5 T-Z 2 See also 3 References

[edit] Well-known sobriquets

[edit] A-C

• Albion – Great Britain
• Alma Mater – (One's own) University
• The Almighty – God
• The Almighty Nose – Oliver Cromwell
• Alpha and Omega – Jesus Christ
• Attila the Hen – Margaret Thatcher
• Auld Reekie – Edinburgh
• Auntie – the BBC
• Aussie – an Australian
• Baghdad Bob – Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf (more commonly known as "Comical Ali" in the United Kingdom)
• The Bard – William Shakespeare
• The Bard of Avon – William Shakespeare
• The Bard of Twickenham – Alexander Pope
• The Beautiful Game – football
• The Beeb – the BBC
• The Belfast Boy – George Best
• The Big Apple – New York City
• The Big Easy – New Orleans
• The Big Smoke – London
• The Bishop of Rome – The Pope
• The Black Country – the industrial West Midlands
• The Black Pearl – Pelé
• The Black Prince – Edward, Prince of Wales (Son of Edward III)
• Blighty – Great Britain (used by British servicemen abroad)
• Bloody Mary – Mary I
• Bonnie Prince Charlie – Charles Edward Stuart
• The Boss – Bruce Springsteen
• The Boss – George Steinbrenner
• Boz – Charles Dickens
• Brenda – Queen Elizabeth II
• The Brewer – Oliver Cromwell
• Brian – Prince Charles
• Brillo Pad – Andrew Neil
• Brummie – a person from Birmingham
• Buck House – Buckingham Palace
• Chemical Ali – Ali Hassan al-Majid
• The City – the City of London, or the British financial industry (metonymically)
• The City of Angels – Los Angeles
• The City of Broad Shoulders – Chicago
• The City of Brotherly Love – Philadelphia
• The City of Dreaming Spires – Oxford
• Cockney – a Londoner
• Cœur de Lion – Richard I
• Columbia – The United States or The Americas
• Comical Ali – Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf (more commonly known as "Baghdad Bob" in the United States)
• The Commodore - Cornelius Vanderbilt
• Copper Nose – Oliver Cromwell
• The Cradle of Civilization – Mesopotamia
• The Cradle of Infantry – Belgaum
• Crum-Hell – Oliver Cromwell

[edit] D-G

• The Dark Continent – Africa
• The Dark Knight – Batman
• The Desert Fox – General Erwin Rommel
• Dubya (or Gee-Dub) – U.S. President George W. Bush
• The Duke – John Wayne
• El Duque – Orlando Hernández
• Elia – Charles Lamb
• The Emerald City – Seattle
• The Emerald Isle – Ireland
• The English Vice (or Vice Anglais) – sodomy
• The Eternal City – Rome
• The Evil One – the Devil
• The Fab Four – The Beatles
• The Fallen One – the Devil
• The Few – the Allied fighter pilots who won the Battle of Britain
• The Few, the Proud – The United States Marine Corps
• The Fifth Beatle – Pete Best
• The First World Wor – Jackie Milburn
• The Fourth Estate – the press
• The Frogs – (derog.) the French
• The Garden of England – Kent
• Genghis Khan – Temüjin
• Geordie – a person from Newcastle-upon-Tyne
• The Gipper – Ronald Reagan
• Gloriana – Elizabeth I
• The Good Grey Poet – Walt Whitman
• Good Queen Bess – Elizabeth I
• God's Own Country – Kerala
• Gotham – New York City
• Grandmother of Europe – Queen Victoria
• The Granite City – Aberdeen
• Great Cham – Dr Johnson
• The Great Communicator – Ronald Reagan
• The Great Elector – Frederick I of Brandenburg
• The Great Emancipator – Abraham Lincoln
• The Greatest – Muhammad Ali
• The Great One – Wayne Gretzky
• The Great She-Elephant – Margaret Thatcher
• The Great Unwashed – the (British) lower class
• The Great War – the First World War
• Great Wen – London
• The Great White Way – the theatre district of Broadway
• The Grey Lady – The New York Times
• Grits – members or supporters of the Liberal Party of Canada
• The Grocer – Edward Heath
• The Grocer's Daughter – Margaret Thatcher

[edit] H-M

• Hammer of the Scots – Edward I
• Honest Abe – Abraham Lincoln
• The Iron Duke – the Duke of Wellington
• The Iron Horse – Lou Gehrig
• The Iron Lady – Margaret Thatcher
• The Iron Maiden – Margaret Thatcher
• Jack Tar – sailor in the British Royal Navy
• Jerry – German Nazi soldier
• Jock – (derog.) a Scotsman
• John Bull – England, or an Englishman
• The King of All Media – Howard Stern
• The King of Pop – Michael Jackson
• The King of Rock and Roll (or simply "The King") – Elvis Presley
• King Oliver – Oliver Cromwell
• Kiwi – a person from New Zealand
• Knight of the Road – a tramp, a lorry-driver, or a highwayman
• The Land of Milk and Honey – Israel
• The Land of Smiles – Thailand
• Limey – (derog.) a British person (orig. applied to sailors in the Royal Navy)
• Lion-Heart – Richard I
• The Lion of the North – Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
• Longshanks – Edward I
• Lord Haw-Haw – William Joyce
• The Louisville Lip – Muhammad Ali
• The Lucky Country – Australia<ref>http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/luckycountry/</ref>
• Mackem – a person from Sunderland
• The Maid of Orleans – Joan of Arc
• Manitas de Plata – Flamenco guitarist Ricardo Baliardo
• The Man of Steel – Superman
• Man's Best Friend – dog
• The Material Girl – Madonna
• Mister May – Dave Winfield
• Mister October – Reggie Jackson
• The Modfather – Paul Weller
• Mother of Parliaments – the British Parliament

[edit] N-S

• New York's Bravest – Fire Department of the City of New York
• New York's Finest – New York Police Department
• The Nine Days Queen – Lady Jane Grey
• Nosey – Oliver Cromwell
• The Old Bill – the (British) police force
• The Old Contemptibles – British First World War veterans; originally a reference to the British Expeditionary Force of 1914
• Old Harry – the Devil
• Old Hickory; Andrew Jackson
• Old Ironsides – Oliver Cromwell; the USS Constitution
• The Old Lady (or Vecchia Signora) – Juventus Football Club
• The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street – the Bank of England
• Old Nick – the Devil
• The Old Pretender – James Francis Edward Stuart
• Old Scratch – the Devil
• The Only Band That Matters – The Clash
• Paddy – (derog.) an Irishman
• Perfidious Albion – Great Britain
• The Phenomenal One - AJ Styles
• The Phoney Pharaoh – Mohamed Al-Fayed
• The Pocker – the Devil
• Pommy – a British person (used by Australians and New Zealanders)
• The Prince of Darkness – the Devil; Ozzy Osbourne
• Prinny – the Prince Regent, later George IV
• The Professor – J. R. R. Tolkien
• The Red Planet – Mars
• Richard the Lionheart – Richard I
• Les Rosbifs – (derog.) the British
• Ruby Node – Oliver Cromwell
• The Sage of Chelsea – Thomas Carlyle
• The Sailor King – William IV
• Sassenach – an Englishman (used by Scots)
• Satchmo – Louis Armstrong
• Scouser – a Liverpudlian
• Second-Hand Scouser – (derog.) a person from Birkenhead
• Sin City – Las Vegas, Nevada
• Slick Willy – (derog.) President Bill Clinton
• The Special One – José Mourinho
• The Sport of Kings – horse-racing
• The Square Mile – the City of London
• The Staff of Life – bread
• Street of Ink – Fleet Street
• The Sultan of Swat – Babe Ruth
• The Sun King – Louis XIV
• Super Mario – Mario Lemieux
• The Swan of Avon – William Shakespeare

[edit] T-Z

• Taffy – (derog.) a Welshman
• The Teflon President – Ronald Reagan
• The Theatre of Dreams – Old Trafford
• Tina – Margaret Thatcher
• Tommy Atkins – British soldier
• Tory – a member or supporter of the British or Canadian Conservative Party
• Tricky Dick – Richard Nixon
• Turd Blossom – Karl Rove
• Uncle Sam – the U.S.A.
• Le Vice Anglais – sodomy
• The Virgin Queen – Elizabeth I
• The Voice of Doom – Patrick Allen
• The War to End All Wars – the First World War
• The Warrior Queen – Boadicea
• Westminster Abbey – The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster
• Whig – a member of the late 17th to mid 19th Century British "Country Party"
• The Windy City – Chicago
• The Wizard of the North – Walter Scott
• Wor Jackie – Jackie Milburn
• Yankee – (derog. in some contexts) a person from the U.S.A. (in UK or foreign usage) or from the Northeast or New England (in American usage).
• The Young Pretender – Bonnie Prince Charlie

[edit] See also

• Nickname
• Offensive terms per nationality
• List of monarchs by nickname
• Nicknames of European Royalty and Nobility
• List of United States Presidential nicknames
• List of city nicknames
• List of English football club nicknames
• List of basketball nicknames
• List of North American football nicknames
• List of sportspeople by nickname

[edit] References

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.