sobriquet

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A sobriquet (pronounced so-brik-ay or so-brik-et and occasionally written incorrectly as subricae) is a nickname or a fancy name, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. It is usually a familiar name, 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 is of sufficient familiarity that the sobriquet can become more familiar than the original name. For example, Genghis Khan, who is rarely recognized now by his original name, Temüjin, or Mohandas Gandhi who is better known as Mahatma Gandhi. Well known places often have sobriquets, such as New York City, often referred to as The Big Apple. The term can therefore apply to the nickname for a specific person, group of people or even a place.

Etymology

Two early variants of the term are found, sotbriquet and soubriquet; the latter form is still often used. The modern French spelling is sobriquet. 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 an example of 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.

Usage

Sobriquets are often found in music, sports and 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. 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.

Well-known examples in the Anglosphere

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A-C

• Angel of Death - Josef Mengele
• the Antipodes - Australia and New Zealand
• Auntie - either the Australian Broadcasting Corporation or the British Broadcasting Corporation
• The Bambino- George Herman Ruth, Jr., American baseball Player
• The Bard - William Shakespeare
• Beantown - Boston, Massachusetts, USA
• The Beeb - The British Broadcasting Corporation
• The Big Apple - New York City, New York, USA
• The Big D - Dallas, Texas, USA
• The Big Easy - New Orleans, Louisiana
• The Big Smoke - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Biggie Smalls - Christopher Wallace, American Hip-Hop and rap singer
• The Big Stick - Theodore Roosevelt's diplomatic policy
• The Bird- Mark Fidrych, Baseball pitcher
• Bird - Charlie Parker
• Birdman - Chris Andersen
• Blighty - Great Britain (used by British servicemen abroad and expatriates)
• Bloody Mary - Mary I of England
• Bonnie Prince Charlie - Charles Edward Stuart
• Brangelina - Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
• Broadway Joe - Joe Namath, AFL/NFL American Football player
• Buddha - Siddhartha Gautama
• Caligula- Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus
• Canuck - Canadian, from Johnny Canuck
• Chemical Ali - Ali Hassan al-Majid
• Chosin Few - US Marine survivors of Korean War Battle of Chosin Reservoir
• The City or The City by the Bay - San Francisco, California
• The City of Light - Paris, France
• The City of Joy - Kolkata,India
• The City of Brotherly Love- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• The City of Palaces - Kolkata, India
• Columbia - The United States or The Americas
• Comical Ali - Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf, Iraqi Information Minister during the 2003 US invasion; also known as Baghdad Bob

D-G

• Diamond Dave- David Lee Roth, Singer
• Digger - Australian soldier
• The Doctor - Valentino Rossi
• Dr. Death- Jack Kevorkian proponent of assisted suicide
• The Dragon - China (as an economy)
• Dubya - George W. Bush
• The Duke - John Wayne
• The Emerald Isle - Ireland or Puerto Rico
• The Emerald City - Seattle, Washington, USA
• The Enchanted Isle - (from 'la isla del encanto') Puerto Rico
• The Fab Four - The Beatles
• Father of his country - George Washington
• The Federal City - Washington D.C.
• Foggy Bottom - the United States State Department, named for Washington, DC neighborhood in which it is headquartered
• The Fourth Estate - the press
• Frisco - San Francisco, California
• Garrincha - Manoel Francisco dos Santos
• The General - Irish Criminal Martin Cahill
• Genghis Khan - Temüjin
• The Glimmer Twins - Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Rolling Stones originals members, they co-write most of the hits.
• God's Own Country - Kerala, New Zealand, Rhodesia or Yorkshire
• The Godfather of Soul - James Brown
• GOP (Grand Old Party)- Republican Party (United States)
• Gotham - New York
• The Governator - Arnold Schwarzenegger, 38th Governor of California
• The Great Communicator - Ronald Reagan, The 40th President of the United States of America
• The Great Emancipator - Abraham Lincoln, The 16th President of the United States of America
• The Great One - Wayne Gretzky, WHA/NHL hockey player
• The Greatest - Muhammad Ali boxer^[1]
• Grits - a media term for the Liberal Party of Canada
• The Gray Lady - The New York Times
• The Great Commoner - William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham ("Pitt the Elder") or William Jennings Bryan

H-M

• Hanoi Jane - Jane Fonda
• Hogtown - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Honest Abe - Abraham Lincoln
• Iceman - George Gervin, Jerry Butler, ABA/NBA Basketball player; Kimi Räikkönen, Formula One racing driver, Chuck Liddell, UFC former light heavy weight champion
• Jacko - Michael Jackson
• Joe the Plumber - Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, an American plumbing contractor who was cited as an example of a middle class American during the 2008 U.S. presidential election season by Republican nominee for president, John McCain
• Joltin' Joe - Joe Dimaggio, Baseball player; former husband of Marilyn Monroe
• Kaká - Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite
• The Killer - Jerry Lee Lewis
• The King (of all Media) - Howard Stern
• The King (of NASCAR) - Richard Petty
• The King (of Rock and Roll) - Elvis Presley
• The King (of Rugby League (particularly in Australia)) - Wally Lewis
• King James - LeBron James
• The King of Pop - Michael Jackson
• The King of Spain - Ashley Giles
• The King of Spin - Shane Warne
• The Lion of the Round Top - Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain, commander of the 20th Maine Regiment, American Civil War
• Little Richard - Rev. Richard Wayne Penniman, a prominent figure in rock n' roll.
• Madiba - Nelson Mandela
• Manitas de Plata - Flamenco guitarist Ricardo Baliardo
• The Material Girl - Madonna
• The Myth - Bodybuilding great Sergio Oliva
• Mahatma Gandhi - Mohandas K. Gandhi
• Mr. October- Reggie Jackson- Major League Baseball Player and Hall of Famer

N-S

• Netaji - Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian freedom fighter, the leader of the Provisional Government of Free India and leader of Indian National Army
• The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street - the Bank of England
• Old Nick - Satan
• Old St. Nick - Santa
• The Old Bailey - The Central Criminal Court in England
• Old Blue Eyes - Frank Sinatra, entertainer
• Old Hickory - Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the United States
• Old Kinderhook (OK) - Martin Van Buren, 8th President of the United States
• The Old Pretender - James Francis Edward Stuart
• The Paris of the West - San Francisco, USA
• Pelé - Edson Arantes do Nascimento
• Perfidious Albion - Great Britain
• Pink City - Jaipur, India
• Prince of the Humanists - Desiderius Erasmus
• Prince of Kolkata - Saurav Ganguly
• The Queen of the Arabian Sea - Cochin
• The Red Baron - Manfred von Richthofen, World War I, German flying ace
• The Rat Pack - A group of American singers and entertainers from the late 1950s to the early 1970s
• The Rock (prison) - Alcatraz Prison
• The Rock (person) - Dwayne Johnson
• Satchmo - Louis Armstrong
• The Say Hey Kid - Willie Mays, American, Major League baseball player and Hall of Famer
• Sin City - Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
• Slash - Saul Hudson, guitarist.
• Slick Willy - U.S. President Bill Clinton
• Slowhand - Eric Clapton
• Soapy Sam - Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford
• The Sultan of Swat - Babe Ruth, Major league Baseball player and Hall of Famer

T-Z

• The Teflon Don - mobster John Gotti
• The Thin White Duke - David Bowie, Actor, Entertainer
• Tinseltown - Hollywood, California, USA
• Trane - John Coltrane
• Tricky Dick - Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States
• Uncle Sam - the U.S.A. or sometimes the government
• Westminster - the British Parliament
• Whitehall - the British government including Parliament but excluding the monarchy
• White House - the executive branch of the government of the United States
• The Windy City - Chicago, Illinois, USA
• X-22 - backgammon champion Paul Magriel.
• Yardbird - jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker (Also shortened simply to "Bird")
• Yankee - (derogatory in some contexts) a person from the United States (usual usage outside the U.S.) or from the Northeast or New England (in American usage).
• Yank (a short form of "Yankee") - a person from the United States
• The Young Pretender - Charles Edward Stuart

See also

• List of monarchs by nickname
• List of nicknames of European Royalty and Nobility
• List of United States Presidential nicknames
• Lists of nicknames in football (soccer)
• List of basketball nicknames
• List of North American football nicknames
• List of sportspeople by nickname
• Metonymy
• Moniker
• Nickname
• Nicknames of jazz musicians
• Offensive terms per nationality
• Pop icon

Notes

References

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