Sobriquet

A sobriquet (/ˈsoʊbrɪkeɪ/ SOH-bri-kay) or soubriquet is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another and being descriptive in nature. Distinct from a pseudonym, it typically is a familiar name used in place of a real name without the need of explanation, often becoming more familiar than the original name.

The term, sobriquet, may apply to the nickname for a specific person, group of people, or place. Examples are Emiye Menelik, a name of Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia, who was popularly and affectionately recognized for his kindness ('emiye' means mother in Amharic); Genghis Khan, who now is rarely recognized by his original name, Temüjin; and 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.

Etymology

The modern French spelling is sobriquet. Two early variants of the term are found, soubriquet and sotbriquet. The first early spelling variant, "soubriquet", remains in use and is considered the likely origin.

The second early spelling variant suggests derivation from the initial form, 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 the German brechen, to break; but the philologist, Walter William Skeat, considers this spelling to be an example of false etymology. The real origin is to be sought in the form soubriquet.

Émile 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 often are found in music, sports, and politics. Candidates and political figures often are branded with sobriquets, either while living or posthumously. For example, president of the United States Abraham Lincoln came to be known as "Honest Abe".

In the A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (1926) Henry Watson Fowler 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." He 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.

Examples

• Atatürk – Mustafa Kemal, first president of the Republic of Turkey. Name bestowed on him 24 November 1934 by the Turkish Grand National Assembly.
• Banker to the Poor – Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner and managing director of Grameen Bank
• The Big Apple – Manhattan
• Blighty – Great Britain (used by British servicemen abroad and expatriates)
• Columbia – The United States or The Americas, poetic name
• Dixie, Dixieland – (from the Mason–Dixon line); the eleven Southern states that seceded and fought against the U.S. in the American Civil War; still used affectionately by Southerners
• The Fourth Estate – the press

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 Hardest-Working Man in Show Business – James Brown
• The Haryana Hurricane – Kapil Dev, Indian cricketer known for his fast bowling
• Haystack – Haystacks Calhoun, American pro wrestler
• Hef – Hugh Hefner
• The Hick from French Lick – Larry Bird
• His Airness – Michael Jordan
• (The) Hoff – David Hasselhoff
• Hogtown – Toronto
• Hollywood North – Vancouver
• Hollywood of the South – Covington, Georgia
• The Holy Land – Israel or Palestine
• The Home of Cricket – Lord's Cricket Ground
• Honest Abe – Abraham Lincoln
• The Hub – Boston
• The Humbler - Danny Gatton
• The Iron Duke – Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
• The Iron Lady – Margaret Thatcher
• Iz the Wiz – Michael Martin, Graffiti writer
• Jersey Lily – Lillie Langtry
• Jock – a Scot, especially a Scottish soldier
• Joe Satch – Joe Satriani, American instrumental rock guitarist
• 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 Keystone State – Pennsylvania
• Kid – Kid Ory, American jazz trombonist and bandleader
• The Killer – Jerry Lee Lewis
• King – King Oliver, American jazz trumpeter
• The King Khan – Shahrukh Khan, Bollywood Actor
• The King (of baseball) – Félix Hernández
• 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 Henrik - Henrik Lundqvist
• King James – LeBron James
• The King of Pop – Michael Jackson
• The King of Spain – Ashley Giles
• The King of Spin – Shane Warne
• The King of Swing – Benny Goodman, American bandleader and clarinettist
• King of Torts - Joe Jamail
• Knick Killer – Reggie Miller
• La Divina – Maria Callas
• The Lady – Aung San Suu Kyi
• Lady Day – Billie Holiday, American jazz singer
• Lady Di - Princess Diana Spencer
• Lady Lindy – Amelia Earhart
• The Lady with the Lamp – Florence Nightingale
• The Land of a Thousand Lakes – Finland
• The Land of the Flying Fish - Barbados
• The Land of the Long White Cloud – New Zealand
• The Land of the Morning Calm - Korean Peninsula
• The Land of the Rising Sun - Japan
• Larry Legend – Larry Bird
• The Last Emperor – Xuantong Emperor
• The Last of the Red Hot Mammas – Sophie Tucker
• The Lion – Willie "The Lion" Smith, American jazz pianist
• The Lion of the Round Top – Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain, commander of the 20th Maine Regiment, American Civil War
• The Little Apple – Manhattan, Kansas, after The Big Apple – Manhattan in New York City
• The Little Corporal – Napoléon Bonaparte
• Little Richard – Rev. Richard Wayne Penniman, a prominent figure in rock n' roll
• The Little General – Ron Lancaster, former quarterback and coach in the Canadian Football League
• The Little Fellow – Charlie Chaplin
• The Little Master – Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, Indian cricketer
• Little Paris – Bucharest
• The Little Sparrow – Édith Piaf, French singer
• The Little Sparrow – Sezen Aksu, Turkish singer
• The Long Fellow - Éamon de Valera
• Luckey – Luckey Roberts, American jazz pianist and composer
• Macca – Sir Paul McCartney
• Mad Dog and The Professor – Greg Maddux – Major League Baseball Player and Hall of Famer
• Madge – Madonna
• Madiba – Nelson Mandela
• Magic – Earvin Johnson
• The Magic City – Miami
• The Man - Stan Musial
• The Man from Tennessee – Andrew Jackson
• The Man in Black – Johnny Cash
• Manitas de Plata – Flamenco guitarist Ricardo Baliardo
• The Master – Henry James
• The Master of Suspense – Alfred Hitchcock, British filmmaker
• The Material Girl – Madonna
• The Myth – Bodybuilding great Sergio Oliva
• Mahatma Gandhi – Mohandas K. Gandhi
• Maynard – James Herbert Keenan
• Meat Loaf – Marvin Aday
• The Mick – Mickey Mantle
• The Mile-High City – Denver, from its elevation above sea level
• Ming (the Merciless) – Sir Robert Menzies, Prime Minister of Australia (perhaps from Scots pronunciation of surname, "Mingiss")
• Mini-Mick – James Jagger, eldest son of Sir Mick Jagger
• Mr. Baseball - Bob Uecker, Major League Baseball Player and Hall of Fame Broadcaster honoree
• Mr. Cricket – Michael Hussey, Cricket player who currently plays for Chennai Super Kings of the Indian Premier League
• Mr. Loophole - Nick Freeman
• Mr. October – Reggie Jackson, Major League Baseball Player and Hall of Fame honoree
• Mr. Hockey – Gordie Howe
• Mr. Warmth - Don Rickles, American stand-up comedian and actor
• Mr. Mojo Risin – Jim Morrison
• Mother Monster – Lady Gaga
• Mother of the World (Umm al-Dunya) (أم الدنيا) – Egypt, for its ancient history
• The Motor City – Detroit, from its automotive heritage
• Motown – Detroit, from its musical heritage
• The Mozart of Madras - A.R.Rahman, for his widespread acclaim and fusion of Eastern and Western music in Indian Cinema
• Mrs. Brown – Queen Victoria
• Mrs. Bull – Queen Anne
• Muggsy – Muggsy Spanier, American jazz cornet player; also Tyrone Bogues, NBA Player
• Muddy Waters - McKinley Morganfield Singer, songwriter, guitarist, harmonica, bandleader, was an American blues musician who is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago blues"

N–S

• Naptown – Indianapolis
• Netaji – Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian freedom fighter, the leader of the Provisional Government of Free India and leader of Indian National Army
• New York's Finest – New York City Police Department
• New York's Best – NYC*EMS, originally run 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)
• New York's Strongest – New York City Department of Sanitation
• Nightingale of India – Sarojini Naidu, poet, writer, social activist
• Obamacare – Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, generally derogatory
• The Ochre City – Marrakech
• The Old Bill – British Police - particularly the Metropolitan Police
• 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
• 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
• The Ox – John Entwistle
• Oxford of the East – University of Dhaka in the early twentieth century
• Papa – Ernest Hemingway, American author
• Papa Doc – François Duvalier, Haitian president
• Para or Paras – British soldier in the Parachute Regiment or the parachute regiment
• The Paris of the Baltics – Riga, Latvia
• The Paris of the North – Riga, Latvia
• The Paris of the North – Tromsø, Norway
• The Paris of the Levant/Orient - Beirut
• The Paris of the West – San Francisco
• The Paris of the South – São Paulo and Buenos Aires
• Pearl of the Danube – Budapest
• Pearl of the Orient/Pearl of the Orient Seas – the Philippines
• Pearl of the Orient – Hong Kong
• Pearl of the Orient – Penang
• Pelé – Edson Arantes do Nascimento
• Pensioneers – Chelsea football club
• The People's champ – Dwayne Johnson, Actor, wrestler, spokesman
• The People's champ – Kevin 'Pigsy' McCann
• The People's champ – Manny Pacquiao, former division 8 title holder in boxing
• The People's Princess – Diana, Princess of Wales
• Perfidious Albion – Great Britain (from French, Albion perfide)
• The Philosopher – Aristotle
• The Pie Man – Andy Smith (darts player)
• Pink (stylized P!nk) – Alecia Moore
• Pink City – Jaipur, India
• Pink Palace of the Pacific – Royal Hawaiian Hotel, also known as the Pink Lady
• Pommy (or Pom) – Australian name for an English person, vaguely affectionate except when "Pommy" is succeeded by "bastard"
• Poor Little Rich Girl – Barbara Hutton
• Porsche's Quiet Giant – Lake Underwood
• Pretty Purdie - Bernard Purdie
• Prez – Lester Young
• Prince of the Humanists – Desiderius Erasmus
• Prince of Kolkata – Saurav Ganguly
• Prince of Darkness – Ozzy Osbourne
• Professor of politics (Kenya) – Daniel arap Moi
• The Queen City – Charlotte, North Carolina
• The Queen City of the West – Cincinnati Nicknames of Cincinnati
• The Queen of the Arabian Sea – Cochin
• The Queen of Pop – Madonna
• The Queen of Soul – Aretha Franklin
• Queen of the Suburbs – The residential area called Ealing in England
• Queen Sarah – Sarah Churchill
• The Rat Pack – A group of American singers and entertainers from the late 1950s to the early 1970s
• 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 Republic – Republic of Ireland or South Africa
• The Roadrunner (person) – Yvan Cournoyer
• The Rock (person) – Dwayne Johnson
• The Rock (place) – Newfoundland
• The Rock (prison) – Alcatraz Prison
• The Rock Chameleon – David Bowie
• The Rocket – Maurice Richard, Hall of Fame NHL player
• Rough Riders – 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry
• Rubberlips – Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger
• Slim Shady – Eminem
• The Safari Capital of the World – Nairobi
• Saint Jimmy – Billie Joe Armstrong
• Saint of the Gutter – Mother Teresa
• Sandman – Howard Sims, dancer
• Sassenach – Scottish and Irish term for an English person
• Satch – Joe Satriani, American rock guitarist
• Satchmo – Louis Armstrong
• Seven Sisters – North Eastern Region of India inclusive of the seven states namely Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura
• The Say Hey Kid – Willie Mays, American, Major League baseball player and Hall of Fame honoree
• The Scottish Play – Macbeth
• The Secretary of Defense, Gary Maddox, American, Major League baseball player
• Sher-e-Bangla (Tiger of Bengal) – A. K. Fazlul Huq, twentieth century Bengali political leader and statesman
• William the Silent – William I of Orange (1533–1584)
• Silicon Valley - Santa Clara Valley, which includes the cities of San Jose, Mountain View, Cupertino, and Palo Alto.
• Sin City – Las Vegas
• Slash – Saul Hudson, guitarist
• Slick Willie – Bill Clinton, Willie Sutton, Willie Brown, W. W. Herenton
• Slowhand – Eric Clapton
• The Smoke – London
• The Snake – the River Thames, especially the Tideway portion; also BBC's EastEnders show, from signature opening satellite image; also, Jake Roberts, American pro wrestler
• The Spider – Anderson Silva, MMA legend
• Snakehips – Earl Snakehips Tucker, American dancer and entertainer; also Ken Snakehips Johnson, British jazz band leader and dancer, born in British Guiana
• Soapy Sam – Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford
• The Spaceman – Major League Baseball player Bill Lee
• The Splendid Splinter – Baseball player Ted Williams
• Stan the Man - Stan Musial, American baseball player
• The Steel Butterfly – Imelda Marcos
• The Steel City – Sheffield, Pittsburgh
• Steeltown – Hamilton, Ontario
• The Stephen King of children's literature – R.L. Stine, American author
• Sting – Gordon Sumner
• Storyville – Storyville, New Orleans, the city's red-light district from 1897 to 1917; it now lies in Faubourg Tremé
• Strays – Billy Strayhorn, American jazz pianist and composer
• The Subtle Doctor – John Duns Scotus
• The Sultan of Swat – Babe Ruth, Major league Baseball player and Hall of Fame honoree
• The Sunshine State – Florida or Queensland
• Swee' Pea – Billy Strayhorn, American jazz pianist and composer
• Sweets – Harry Edison, American jazz trumpeter

T–Z

• Teddy Ballgame - Ted Williams, American baseball player
• The Teflon Don – mobster John Gotti
• The Teflon Taoiseach – Bertie Ahern, former Taoiseach of Ireland
• The Texas Rattlesnake – Steve Austin, wrestler, actor, talk show host
• The Tiger of Malaya – Tomoyuki Yamashita, general of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II
• The Thin White Duke – David Bowie, Actor, Entertainer
• The Thunderer – The Times newspaper, London
• Toby – Otto Hardwick, American jazz saxophonist
• The Toxic Twins – Aerosmith members Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, due to their massive drug intake during the '70s and '80s
• Tree-Town – Ann Arbor
• The Twin Cities – Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota
• The Twin Towers – former World Trade Center, New York City
• Tinseltown – Hollywood
• Trane – John Coltrane
• Tricky Dick – Richard Nixon, 37th president of the United States
• Turd Blossom – name given by George W. Bush to Karl Rove
• Twentieth Century Dinosaurs – sculptures of dinosaurs made by Jim Gary out of automobile parts of the twentieth century and the exhibition of them that traveled around the world
• Uncle Sam – the U.S. in general or specifically, its government
• Variety Vacationland – North Carolina
• Venice of the North – Amsterdam, Bruges, Stockholm
• Venice of the East – Alappuzha, India
• The Virgin Queen – Queen Elizabeth I of England
• The Voice – Whitney Houston
• The Wall – Rahul Dravid; also the Western Wall in Jerusalem
• The Walled City – Intramuros, Manila
• The War on the Shore – 1991 Ryder Cup
• The war to end all wars – World War I
• Westminster – the British Parliament
• Whitehall – the United Kingdom's central government and its component departments; often refers primarily to the British Civil Service
• The Windy City – Chicago, Illinois (also various other cities including Wellington, New Zealand and Port Elizabeth, South Africa)
• The Wizard (Indian field hockey) – Dhyan Chand
• The Wizard (American baseball) – Ozzie Smith
• 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 U.S. 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 U.S.
• Yardbird – jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker (also shortened simply to "Bird")
• The Young Pretender – Charles Edward Stuart

See also

Related articles

• Antonomasia
• Cognomen
• Epithet
• Honorific
• Metonymy
• Moniker
• Nickname
• Pen name
• Pop icon
• Pseudonym
• Title

Lists

• Lists of nicknames
• Nicknames in European royalty and nobility
• Nicknames in popular music
• Nicknames in sport (category)
• Nicknames of U.S. presidents
• List of metonyms

References

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Sobriquet". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.