What does G.I. mean, and are British soldiers called anything similar?

mibmob

G.I. is general infantryman. In Britain we now call them squaddies. But again I expect to be shot down in flames - see q above. Jul 20 02, 4:27 PM

Fosse4

Always thought GI to mean General (or Government) Issue referring to the kit and equipment given to soldiers in the US. The UK equivalent I would have said was Tommy (from Tommy Atkins the fictitious name used to show how to fill in the enrolment forms in WW1) Like Mibmob am prepared to be shot down if wrong. Jul 20 02, 9:09 PM

dOUG	Thanks F4, is that how we get the word Tommy Gun? Jul 20 02, 11:09 PM

sundayboy

Doug, I think the 'Tommy Gun'is actually the Thompson SubMachine Gun invented by General John T Thompson, hence the nickname of it, taken from his surname. Jul 21 02, 1:22 AM

Linus

According to the site below,: 'GI is an old World War II term that means General Issue and Government issue. It was used to describe regulation equipment, but was applied to the common soldiers in WWII. So GI Joe sort of means 'Average Joe'. (For more info, see entry at Dictionary.com)' http://www.joeheadquarters.com/faq.shtml I guess they would know! Also see: http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question13171.html http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question14954.html http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question33363.html Jan 01 03, 7:37 PM