Sobriquet

A sobriquet (pronounced /ˈsoʊbrɨkeɪ/ SOH-bri-kay) is a nickname, 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 derivation from sot, foolish, and the second form, briquet, is a French adaptation of Italian 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 false etymology. The real origin is to be sought in the form soubriquet.

Littré gives an early fourteenth 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.

Use

Sobriquets are often found in music, sports and politics. Candidates and political figures are often branded with sobriquets, either while living or posthumously. For example, President of the United States Abraham Lincoln came to be known as Honest Abe. Sobriquets are not necessarily complimentary. 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, but opinion on their use varies. Sobriquets remain a common feature of speech today.

Well-known examples among English speakers

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

A–C

• The Angel of Death/Der Todesengel – Josef Mengele, Nazi war criminal.
• The Angelic Doctor - Thomas Aquinas
• The Antipodes – Australia and New Zealand, close to the Antipodes of Great Britain
• The Athens of the North - Edinburgh
• Auld Reekie - Edinburgh, "Old Smokey" in the Scots Language
• Auntie/Aunty – either the Australian Broadcasting Corporation or the British Broadcasting Corporation
• Babe, The Bambino – George Herman Ruth, Jr., American baseball player
• Bangabandhu (Friend of Bengal) – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, 1st President of Bangladesh
• Banker to the Poor - Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner and Managing Director of Grameen Bank.
• The Bard (of Avon) – William Shakespeare
• The Battleground/Battlefield/Cock-pit of Europe – Belgium, or the whole area of the former United Netherlands
• The Bayou City – Houston, Texas, USA
• Beantown – Boston, Massachusetts, USA
• Becks - David Beckham English Footballer
• 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 – London, UK and by extension other large industrial cities including Toronto, Canada.
• The Big Piece - Ryan Howard, Phillies First Baseman.
• The Big Stick – Theodore Roosevelt's diplomatic policy
• The Big Yin - Billy Connolly, Scottish comedian.
• The Body - Elle Macpherson
• Biggest Little City – Reno, NV, USA, a small casino city.
• Biggie Smalls – Christopher Wallace, American Hip-Hop and rap singer
• The Bill - The William Webb Ellis Cup - trophy awarded to winners of the Rugby Union World Cup
• Bird (or Yardbird) – Charlie Parker, jazz musician
• The Bird – Mark Fidrych, Baseball pitcher
• Birdman – Chris Andersen, US basketball player known for his trademark "bird" celebration.
• Blighty – Great Britain (used by British servicemen abroad and expatriates)
• The Black Mamba - Kobe Bryant, American basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers
• Bloody Mary – Queen Mary I of England
• Body Beautiful Beale/Little Edie - Edith Bouvier Beale
• Boney - Napoléon Bonaparte, a derogatory nickname used in Britain.
• Bonnie Prince Charlie – Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie" means handsome in the Scots Language)
• Bono (or Bono Vox) – Paul Hewson, singer with U2
• Bonzo/The Beast – John Bonham, drummer with Led Zeppelin
• Boom Boom Afridi – Shahid Afridi, Pakistani Cricketer known for his aggressive batting style.
• The Boss – Bruce Springsteen, US musician
• The Boston Strangler – Albert DeSalvo
• Brangelina – Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, a portmanteau name used by news media to refer to the couple.
• Brat Pack – group of young actors and actresses who starred in teen-oriented coming-of-age films in the 1980s (by extension from "The Rat Pack" mentioned below).
• Brew City – Milwaukee, Wisconsin, famous for its beer production
• Brisvegas – Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
• Broadway Joe – Joe Namath, AFL/NFL American Football player
• Buddha – Siddhartha Gautama
• Buffalo Bill – American frontier showman William Frederick Cody
• Buffalo Jones – Kansas frontiersman Charles "Buffalo" Jones
• Caligula - Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus
• Chemical Ali – Ali Hassan al-Majid, minister in Saddam Hussein's government held responsible for the use of chemical weapons at Halabja.
• Comical Ali – Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf, Iraqi Information Minister during the 2003 US invasion; also known as Baghdad Bob. Became a minor celebrity in the west for his unflagging optimism and increasingly grandiose announcements.
• Chosin Few – Survivors of Korean War Battle of Chosin Reservoir
• The City - the City of London, as central business district of London and by extension the UK financial industry in general.
• The City (or The City by the Bay) – San Francisco, California
• The City Beautiful - Coral Gables, Florida
• The City Care Forgot - New Orleans, Louisiana
• The City of Angels/L.A. - Los Angeles, California
• The City of Brotherly Love – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• The City of Light - Paris (La Ville-Lumière in French). Also Perth, Western Australia which lit all its streetlights for the passage of astronaut John Glenn in 1962.
• The City of Medicine - Durham, North Carolina
• The City of Palaces – Kolkata, India
• The City of Joy - Kolkata, India
• The City so Nice They Named It Twice – New York City
• The Coat Hanger - Sydney Harbour Bridge
• Columbia – The United States or The Americas, poetic name
• The Continent - Continental Europe, generally used by British people
• Cowtown - The City of Calgary, Alberta, Canada

D–G

• DC, The District – Washington, DC
• DF - Mexico City, (Distrito Federal)
• The Dark Continent - Africa
• Diamond Dave – David Lee Roth, Singer
• Digger – Australian soldier
• Dixie, Dixieland – (from the Mason-Dixon Line of latitude, the northern limit of legal slavery). The eleven Southern states that seceded and fought against the USA in the American Civil War: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia; still used affectionately by Southerners.
• The Don - Sir Donald Bradman
• Donnie Baseball - Don Mattingly
• Dr. Death – Jack Kevorkian proponent of assisted suicide
• Dr. J – Julius Erving, Hall of Fame NBA player.
• The Dragon – China (as an economy)
• Dubya – George W. Bush
• Dullsville - Perth, Western Australia
• The Duke – John Wayne
• The Edge – David Howell Evans, guitarist in the rock band U2
• The Elephant Man – Joseph Merrick
• The Emerald Isle – Ireland or Puerto Rico
• The Emerald City – Seattle, Washington, USA
• The Enchanted Isle – (from 'la isla del encanto') Puerto Rico
• The Eternal City – Rome
• The Fab Five – 1991 University of Michigan men's basketball team.
• 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 the Washington, DC, neighborhood in which it is headquartered
• The Fourth Estate – the press
• Freddie Mercury - Farrokh Bulsara
• Frisco – San Francisco, California
• Garrincha – Manoel Francisco dos Santos
• Genghis Khan – Temüjin
• The Glimmer Twins – Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Rolling Stones originals members, they co-wrote most of the hits
• The Godfather of Soul – James Brown
• The Golden Bear – Jack Nicklaus
• Good Queen Bess - Queen Elizabeth I of England
• GOC or Gods' Own County - Yorkshire
• GOP (Grand Old Party) – Republican Party (United States)
• Gotham – New York
• The Governator – Arnold Schwarzenegger, 38th Governor of California
• The Grauniad - The Guardian newspaper, England (because of its formerly frequent typographical errors, such as an edition where the masthead was spelled The Gaurdian)
• The Great Communicator – Ronald Reagan, The 40th President of the United States of America
• The Great Compromiser - Henry Clay, 19th century Kentucky statesman
• The Great Emancipator – Abraham Lincoln, The 16th President of the United States of America
• The Great One – Wayne Gretzky, WHA/NHL hockey player
• The Great Orator - Daniel Webster
• The Great Triumvirate - Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, and Daniel Webster
• The Great White North – Canada
• The Greatest – Muhammad Ali boxer
• 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, for her anti-war stance during the Vietnam War including visiting Hanoi, seen as an act of treason to many Americans.
• The Haryana Hurricane – Kapil Dev, Indian cricketer known for his fast bowling.
• Hef - Hugh Hefner
• The Hick from French Lick – Larry Bird
• His Airness – Michael Jordan
• (The) Hoff – David Hasselhoff
• Hogtown – Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• The Holy Land – Israel / Palestine
• The Home of Cricket - Lord's Cricket Ground
• Honest Abe – Abraham Lincoln
• The Hub - Boston, Massachusetts, USA
• The Iron Duke - Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
• The Iron Lady - Margaret Thatcher
• Iz the Wiz - Michael Martin, Graffiti Writer
• Jock - a Scot, especially a Scottish soldier
• 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
• K of P – King of Prussia, PA, USA
• Kaká – Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite
• The Killer – Jerry Lee Lewis
• The King (of baseball) – Felix Hernandez
• The King (of all Media) – Howard Stern
• The King (of golf) – Arnold Palmer
• The King (of NASCAR) – Richard Petty
• The King (of Rock and Roll) – Elvis Presley
• The King of Reggae - Bob Marley
• 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
• Knick Killer – Reggie Miller
• The Lady with the Lamp - Florence Nightingale
• The Land of a Thousand Lakes – Finland
• The Land of the Long White Cloud - New Zealand
• Larry Legend – Larry Bird
• The Lion of the Round Top – Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain, commander of the 20th Maine Regiment, American Civil War
• The Little Apple - Manhattan, Kansas, USA After The Big Apple – New York City, New York, USA
• Little Richard – Rev. Richard Wayne Penniman, a prominent figure in rock n' roll
• The Little Fellow - Charlie Chaplin
• The Little Master - Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, Indian cricketer
• The Little Sparrow – Edith Piaf, French singer
• The Little Sparrow – Sezen Aksu, Turkish singer
• Madge – Madonna
• Madiba – Nelson Mandela
• Mega Star - Chiranjeevi (Actor), India.
• The Magic City - Miami, Florida
• The Man from Tennessee – Andrew Jackson
• The Man in Black – Johnny Cash
• Manitas de Plata – Flamenco guitarist Ricardo Baliardo
• The Material Girl – Madonna
• The Myth – Bodybuilding great Sergio Oliva
• Mahatma Gandhi – Mohandas K. Gandhi
• Maynard – James Keenan
• Meat Loaf - Marvin Aday
• The Mick – Mickey Mantle
• Ming (the Merciless) - Sir Robert Menzies, Prime Minister of Australia (perhaps from Scots pronunciation of surname, "Mingiss")
• Mr. October – Reggie Jackson- Major League Baseball Player and Hall of Famer
• Mr. Hockey – Gordie Howe
• Mother Monster - Lady Gaga
• The Motor City - Detroit, MI, from its automotive heritage
• Motown - Detroit, MI, from its musical heritage
• Mr. MojoRisin - Jim Morrison
• Muggsy - Tyrone Bogues, NBA Player

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 New Sinatra – Jay-Z
• New York's Finest - New York City Police Department
• New York's Best- NYC*EMS, originally ran by the Health and Hospitals Corporation, taken over by FDNY in 1996 and is now FDNY EMS
• New York's Bravest - New York City Fire Department
• New York's Boldest - New York City Department of Correction (who work in the City's jails.)
• Obamacare - Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, generally derogatory
• The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street – the Bank of England
• Old Nick – in Christianity, the Devil
• Old St. Nick – Santa Claus
• The Old Bailey – The Central Criminal Court in England
• Ol' 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
• Old Rough and Ready – Zachary Taylor
• Oxford of the East - University of Dhaka in the early 20th century
• Para (Para's) - British soldier in The Parachute Regiment or Paras - The Parachute Regiment
• The Paris of the West – San Francisco, USA
• The Paris of the South – São Paulo and Buenos Aires
• Pearl of the Danube - Budapest, Hungary
• Pearl of the Orient/Pearl of the Orient Seas - the Philippines
• Pelé – Edson Arantes do Nascimento
• Pensioneers – Chelsea football club
• The Peoples champ-Kevin 'Pigsy' McCann
• Perfidious Albion – Great Britain (from French, Albion perfide)
• The Philosopher - Aristotle
• Pink (stylized P!nk) - Alecia Moore
• Pink City – Jaipur, India
• Pommy (or Pom) - Australian name for an English person, vaguely affectionate except when "Pommy" is succeeded by "bastard"
• Prince of the Humanists – Desiderius Erasmus
• Prince of Kolkata – Saurav Ganguly
• The Queen of the Arabian Sea – Cochin
• Queen of the Suburbs – The residential area called Ealing in England.
• The Rawalpindi Express – Shoaib Akhtar
• The Red Arrows - (British) Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team
• The Red Baron – Manfred von Richthofen, World War I, German flying ace
• The Red Devils – (British) Parachute Regiment, Manchester United Football Club
• The Red Planet - Mars
• 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
• The Rock Chameleon – David Bowie
• Saint Jimmy – Billie Joe Armstrong
• Sandman – Howard Sims, dancer
• Sassenach - Scottish and Irish term for an English person
• Satchmo – Louis Armstrong
• The Say Hey Kid – Willie Mays, American, Major League baseball player and Hall of Famer
• The Scottish Play - Macbeth
• Sher-e-Bangla (Tiger of Bengal) - A. K. Fazlul Huq, 20th century Bengali political leader and statesman
• Sin City – Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
• Slash – Saul Hudson, guitarist.
• Slick Willie - Bill Clinton, Willie Sutton, Willie Brown, W.W. Herenton
• Slowhand – Eric Clapton
• The Smoke – London
• Soapy Sam – Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford
• The Spaceman – Major League Baseball player Bill Lee
• The Splendid Splinter - Baseball player Ted Williams
• The Steel City – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Sting – Gordon Sumner
• The Subtle Doctor – John Duns Scotus
• The Sultan of Swat – Babe Ruth, Major league Baseball player and Hall of Famer
• Super Star – Tamil Actor (Indian) Rajinikanth

T–Z

• The Teflon Don – mobster John Gotti
• The Teflon Taoiseach – Bertie Ahern, former Taoiseach of Ireland
• The Thin White Duke – David Bowie, Actor, Entertainer
• The Thunderer - The Times newspaper, London
• The Toxic Twins – Aerosmith members Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, referred to as such because of their massive drug intake during the 70's and 80's
• The Twin Cities - Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
• Tinseltown – Hollywood, California, USA
• Trane – John Coltrane
• Tricky Dick – Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States
• Turd Blossom – name given by George W. Bush to Karl Rove
• Uncle Sam – the U.S.A. in general or specifically the government
• Venice of the North - Stockholm, Sweden and Cork (city), Ireland
• The Virgin Queen – Queen Elizabeth I of England
• The Wall - Rahul Dravid
• 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 and Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
• X-22 – backgammon champion Paul Magriel.
• Yankee – an American of European ancestry not sympathetic to the Southern cause, originally only from the states that fought against the Confederacy in the Civil War but now from any non-Southern state; used outside the USA to mean any American; sometimes derogatory in either usage
• Yank (a short form of "Yankee") – originally used derogatorily by Southerners but now often heard outside the USA
• Yardbird – jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker (also shortened simply to "Bird")
• The Young Pretender – Charles Edward Stuart

See also

• Cognomen
• Metonymy
• Moniker

• Nickname
• Pop icon
• Pseudonym

References

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)