greyback

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun `Johnny' was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; `greyback' derived from their grey Confederate uniforms
noun a dowitcher with a grey back
noun a sandpiper that breeds in the Arctic and winters in the southern hemisphere

From grey + back.

"Old Greyback," said Rainbow Pete, whispering to me, "I am mistrustful of this moment." — The best short stories of 1917, and the yearbook of the American short story, Unknown
One Irregular was sitting on an earth-filled packing-case, swearing softly, nursing a disabled right arm, and looking at the corded network of hairy, sunburned muscles that were delicately outlined in the bright red stream that trickled from beneath the rolled-up shirt-sleeve of raspy "greyback." — The Dop Doctor, Richard Dehan

Rebel, Reb, Johnny Reb, Johnny

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