Johnny Reb
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9.9
- noun
- /ˈdʒɒni rɛb/
- Literature
:
Johnny Reb
- During the Civil War, many soldiers were known as Johnny Reb, representing the Southern cause.
Examples
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The days of Johnny Reb are long gone.
Blog text (23) -
Historians often discuss the role of Johnny Reb in shaping the South's identity during the 19th century.
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I will not put my life in the hands of Johnny Reb.
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Kill a Johnny Reb for me.
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I reckon someone will take charge of you sooner or later. "Thank you, Johnny Reb," one of the men in blue said as he shed ammunition and rations.
Fiction book (1992) -
The term Johnny Reb refers to the soldiers who fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War.
Synonyms
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9.9
A soldier from the southern states in the American Civil War
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7.8
A soldier who fought for the Southern states during the American Civil War
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9.9
A small insect that lives on people and causes itching, often found on soldiers during war
A name Union soldiers used for soldiers from the Southern states during the American Civil War
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase pairs a generic male name 'Johnny' with 'Reb', a clipped form of 'rebel', so a learner who sees 'reb' as 'rebel' could infer it refers to a (male) rebel or combatant. However, identifying it specifically as a nickname for Confederate soldiers in the American Civil War requires cultural/historical knowledge and the clipped form 'Reb' is not a common word-form for all learners, so the meaning is only partially predictable.
Etymology
Johnny Reb comes from using Johnny as a common man's name and Reb as a short form of the word 'rebel' for soldiers from the South in the American Civil War. Because people used this simple name for the typical Southern fighter, it came to mean 'a Confederate soldier' today.