Five legacies of World War I

“Whiz-bang,” “pipsqueak,” “cushy.” All are words popularized in World War I. Every war produces its own lexicon. But World War I was particularly fecund. Some of the words stemmed from the new era of mechanized weaponry, which required their own descriptions – thus small German guns were “pipsqueaks,” incoming rounds went “whiz-bang,” and certain artillery were “big berthas.” Unappetizing canned beef was “monkey meat,” the patriotic Allied term for sauerkraut was “liberty cabbage,” and sausage and mashed potatoes were “zeppelins in a cloud.” There was “trench foot,” “shell shock,” “fleabags” (bedrolls), and everything “ersatz” (substitute German foods).