Yankee Doodle

(slang, archaic) A native or inhabitant of the United States.


Tory

From Irish tóraí (“pursuer”), from tóir (“pursuit”). The first recorded use in English is from a 1646 letter by James Butler, Earl of Ormond, to a Colonel O'Brien, describing bandits and thieves on main roadways.

(US, historical) A loyal British subject during the American Revolution.


continental

en-adj

continental (comparative more continental, superlative most continental)

more continental (comparative)
most continental (superlative)
Continental (alternative)

antonym(s) of

→ Korean: 콘티넨털 (kontinenteol)

kontinentální

in the main part of a country or region, as opposed to on one of its islands

characteristic of the style of continental Europe'

continental money

(US, historical) Of or relating to the confederated colonies collectively, in the time of the Revolutionary War.


Washington

en-proper noun

Washington (countable and uncountable, plural Washingtons)

Washington (the town in Tyne and Wear, northeast England): probably from the Old English place name Hwæssingatūn (literally “a settlement of the household of *Hwæssa”), from *Hwæssa (a Saxon chieftain's name) + -ing (“belonging to”) + tūn (“homestead, settlement”). It was attested in 1096 as Wasindone. Hwæssa is of uncertain origin, said to possibly correspond to waþ (“hunt”) + sige (“victory”), or possibly related to hwæte (“wheat”). There are other theories; more on Wikipedia.
The surname derives from the town, and most places in the United States are named for George Washington.

DC

The federal district and city are coterminous and the city government administers the district, so are jurisdictionally equivalent

A state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Capital: Olympia. Largest city: Seattle.


redcoat

redcoats (plural)
red coat (alternative)
red-coat (alternative)

The street sounds to the soldiers’ tread, / And out we troop to see: / A single redcoat turns his head, / He turns and looks at me.

1896, A[lfred] E[dward] Housman, “[Poem] XXII”, in A Shropshire Lad, New York, N.Y.: John Lane Company, The Bodley Head, published 1906, →OCLC, stanza 1, page 32:

He did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon; / And out o' the tawny sunset, before the rise o' the moon, / When the road was a gypsy's ribbon, looping the purple moor, / A red-coat troop came marching— / Marching—marching— / King George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door.

1906 August, Alfred Noyes, “The Highwayman”, in Poems, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., published October 1906, →OCLC, part 2, stanza I, pages 48–49:

The series ran from 1980 until 1988, and won a BAFTA for Best Comedy Series in 1984. It was based on Perry’s experiences working as a Redcoat in Butlins.

A member of the entertainment staff at Butlin's holiday camps in the United Kingdom, who wear red blazers.


redcoat

en-verb

redcoat (third-person singular simple present redcoats, present participle redcoating, simple past and past participle redcoated)

redcoats (present singular third-person)
redcoating (participle present)
redcoated (participle past)
redcoated (past)
red coat (alternative)
red-coat (alternative)

(intransitive, very rare) To work as a redcoat (Butlin's entertainer).


Patriot

(US, historical) A person who was in favor of American Independence from Britain during the American Revolution.


Independence Day

Independence Day
Independence Day (India)
Independence Day (Philippines)

(US) A holiday celebrated in the United States commemorating the country's independence from Great Britain, celebrated each year on the 4th of July.


John Hancock

Named after American merchant and statesman John Hancock (1737–1793), the first person to sign the United States Declaration of Independence. According to legend, he signed his name prominently to be sure George III could read it, causing his name to become an eponym for a signature. However, other examples show that Hancock always wrote his signature this way.

named-after

John Hancock
John Singleton Copley
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Please put your John Hancock on the dotted line to close the deal.

The man is pressed for his "John Hancock" with all the persuasiveness and eloquence of a practiced operator on masculine vanity.

1879, Bates Harrington, How 'tis Done: A Thorough Ventilation of the Numerous Schemes Conducted by Wandering Canvassers, together with the Various Advertising Dodges for the Swindling of the Public, Chicago, Ill.: Fidelity Pub. Co., →OCLC, page 63:

Can I have your auto—your John Hancock, please?

1996, 30:38 from the start, in Space Jam, Burbank, Calif.: Warner Home Video, →ISBN:

Audrey and crew even squeezed frail grocer Frank Morgan, the victim, into adding his John Hancock to the parole petition. The cherry was getting Hanging Judge Joe Williams to sign on as well.

2005, Dary Matera, John Dillinger: The Life and Death of America's First Celebrity Criminal, trade paperback edition, New York, N.Y.: Carroll & Graf Publishers, →ISBN, page 36:

[Jack] Lew is not the first Treasury secretary to change his John Hancock upon arrival at 1500 Pennsylvania Ave.

2013 June 18, Zachary A. Goldfarb, “Treasury Secretary Jack Lew unveils new signature after quibbles with his scribble”, in The Washington Post:


Hessian

en-noun

Hessian (countable and uncountable, plural Hessians)

(historical) A mercenary soldier, especially a German one who fought with the British in the American Revolutionary War.


Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold (plural Benedict Arnolds)

From Benedict Arnold, famous for betraying the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.

A Negro hotelkeeper in a free city of the North views with disdain a Benedict Arnold in the colored camp who crosses the lines to a "white" hotel.

1945, William Worthy, Jr., “Non-Fraternization: American Style”, in The Crisis, volume 52, number 11, page 323:

I am no longer an American; I am a traitor, a Judas, a Benedict Arnold.

2008, Nick De La Pena, The Contagion, page 299:

Within a group, Benedict Arnolds attempt to prevent the group from accomplishing its goals

2009, Charles Zastrow, The Practice of Social Work: A Comprehensive Worktext, page 204:

What if we are already under investigation from someone covertly talking with the cops? What if there is a Benedict Arnold in the group?

2012, Nicholas Campanella, Traglamoor's Journey:


Founding Father

Founding Father (plural Founding Fathers)

First used by then-U.S. senator Warren G. Harding in his keynote speech at the 1916 Republican National Convention.

At the heart of it, I thought of the Great Society as an extension of the Bill of Rights. When our fundamental American rights were set forth by the Founding Fathers, they reflected the concerns of a people who sought freedom in their time. But in our time a broadened concept of freedom requires that every American have the right to a healthy body, a full education, a decent home, and the opportunity to develop to the best of his talents.

1971, Lyndon Johnson, The Vantage Point, Holt, Reinhart & Winston, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 104:

United States of America
United States of America

American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War

(chiefly US, chiefly in the plural) Any of the men who were responsible for the founding of the United States of America. Chiefly used to refer to political leaders who drafted and signed the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, and to military leaders who fought in the American Revolutionary War.

United States Declaration of Independence


Fourth of July

Fourth of Julys (plural)
4th of July (alternative)

/ˌfɔːθ‿əv d͡ʒʊˈlaɪ/

/ˌfɔɹθ‿əv d͡ʒəˈlaɪ/

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Fourth of July.wav

The proper noun is probably derived from the phrase “the fourth day of July”. The common noun is derived from the proper noun.

And the Ohio State Journal reports that “it was the hottest, quietest, and safest Fourth of July that Columbus ever had. The firecracker, the gun, and the cannon did not appear, and so there was not an injured or mangled boy or dead body anywhere yesterday as a result of powder patriotism. What a happy condition for the city to be in! What a marked difference from other days, after the Fourth. It seems that these ear splitting and soul stabbing Fourth of Julys are ended; and it is well; it is very well.”

1911 July 16, “A Saner Fourth”, in The Chicago Sunday Tribune, volume LXX, number 29, Chicago, Ill.: The Tribune Company, Metropolitan Section, page 4, column 3:

MARY went in to the frail little mother and told her the news through the cotton wool in both ears. Mrs. Davis had no difficulty hearing, so beautifully penetrating is good news. The relief in her pale little face “choked” Mary. / “My dear! You are an angel, there in that white robe! All you haven’t got is wings! If you knew—if anybody but me could know the tortures Fourth of Julys are to me.[…]”

1921 July 2, Annie Hamilton Donnell, “Do-As-You-Please Day: A Fourth of July Story”, in The Christian Herald […], volume 44, number 27, New York, N.Y.: Graham Patterson, page 469, column 1:

Our Fourth of Julys are sounding different, too. Come to one of our barbeques and you might hear “Praise the Lord and Pass the Metamucil” or that ol’ patriotic favorite “Let Eardrums Ring.”

2005, Martha Bolton, “Season’s Greetings”, in Growing Your Own Turtleneck… and Other Benefits of Aging, Bloomington, Minn.: Bethany House Publishers, →ISBN, page 98:

The national holiday of Independence Day in the United States, celebrated on the fourth day in July to mark the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain in 1776.


Lexington

Boston, MA
Lexington
Robert Sutton, 2nd Baron Lexinton
William Henry Whitmore

From personal name Leaxa + -ing (“belonging to”) + tun (“settlement”). The town in Massachusetts may have been named after the town of Laxton (formerly spelled Lexington) in Nottinghamshire, or after Robert Sutton, 2nd Baron Lexinton (whose title refers to the same place). The other US towns are named after the town in Massachusetts, the site of an important Revolutionary War battle.

Oglethorpe County
Oglethorpe County#English

A small city, the county seat of Oglethorpe County, Georgia.

A township and village therein, in Sanilac County, Michigan.

Lexington County
Lexington County#English

A town, the county seat of Lexington County, South Carolina.

Rockbridge County
Rockbridge County#English

An independent city, the county seat of Rockbridge County, Virginia.

The battle of Lexington, one of the first battles in the American Revolutionary War, see Wikipedia:Battles of Lexington and Concord.


Thirteen Colonies

the Thirteen Colonies (canonical plural)

(historical) The thirteen British colonies that successfully revolted in 1775-1781, forming the nucleus of the United States.


American Revolutionary War

the American Revolutionary War (canonical)

The American Revolution (1775–1783) of the contiguous southern 13 colonies of the British Empire on the east coast of the North American mainland


Yorktown

A town, the county seat of York County, in southeastern Virginia, United States. It was the site of the final battle of the Revolutionary War.


Quaker gun

Quaker guns (plural)
quaker gun (alternative)

/ˌkweɪkəɹ ˈɡʌn/

From Quaker + gun, referring to the pacifism associated with practitioners of the Quaker religion.

Nor was he content with thus strongly garrisoning the fort, but he likewise added exceedingly to its strength by furnishing it with a formidable battery of quaker guns—rearing a stupendous flag-staff in the centre which overtopped the whole city—and moreover by building a great windmill on one of the bastions.

1809, Diedrich Knickerbocker [pseudonym; Washington Irving], chapter III, in A History of New York, from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty. […], volume I, New York, N.Y.: Inskeep & Bradford, […], →OCLC, book IV, page 216:

The captain examined the marks left on the grass, and was of opinion that more than one man had been employed to set up the decoy figure, […] "At all events, your honour, I will carry the quaker in," said Joyce, tossing the stuffed figure on a shoulder. "He will do to man the quaker gun at least, and may be of use in frightening some one of the other side, more than he has yet frightened us."

1843, [James Fenimore Cooper], chapter VI, in Wyandotté, or The Hutted Knoll. […], volume II, Philadelphia, Pa.: Lea and Blanchard, →OCLC, pages 84–85:

No one would imagine, from the appearance of the troops on Munson's Hill and the vicinity, that they were new comers. […] Fortifications are already so complete as to forbid all hopes of the rebels regaining possession of these localities. The Quaker gun found there was consigned to the flames to-day, and in its stead heavy artillery, of the genuine sort, commands all the surrounding country.

1861 October 4, “Our troops at Munson’s Hill”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2015-11-04:

Those who watched from the shore as the beautiful vessel moved upstream saw that she too carried guns, but when they boarded her they found that the 'guns' were dummies made of wood. 'Yes,' explained the crew in answer to their wondering questions, 'them's Quaker guns. "Quakers" would be no use in a fight, but they look all right at a distance. They frighten the pirates away – and they cost much less than the real thing!'

1980, Marjorie Sykes, “The British India Society 1815–1843”, in Quakers in India: A Forgotten Century, London: George Allen & Unwin, →ISBN, page 19:

In late September the southerners withdrew from one exposed position on Munson's Hill a few miles southwest of Washington. When the Federals moved in, instead of the large cannon they had expected they found a log shaped and painted to resemble a cannon. This "Quaker gun" embarrassed [General George Brinton] McClellan and called into question his reports of superior Confederate forces. […] The Quaker gun incident further dissipated the once-enormous reservoir of support and adulation for McClellan.

1988, James M[unro] McPherson, “Farewell to the Ninety Days’ War”, in Battle Cry of Freedom: the Civil War Era (The Oxford History of the United States; 6), New York, N.Y.; Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, pages 361–362:

(idiomatic, chiefly US, weaponry, historical) A nonfunctional imitation of a gun or an artillery piece, typically made of wood and usually intended to deceive enemy forces into overestimating one's available firepower.


minute man

minute men (plural)
minute-man (alternative)
minuteman (alternative)

(historical) During the American War for Independence, a citizen-soldier who would fight for the Patriots at a minute's notice.


Saratoga

/ˌsærəˈtoʊɡə/

Corruption of a Mohawk word se-rach-ta-gue, sa-ra-ta-ke (“the hillside country of the quiet river”), which the early Dutch settlers interpreted as Sarachtoge. More at Saratoga.

Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County#English

A city in Santa Clara County, California.

Saratoga Springs
Saratoga Springs#English

A town in Saratoga County, New York, adjacent to Saratoga Springs.

A number of townships in the United States, listed under Saratoga Township.


Revolutionary War

Any of several revolutionary wars (wars of revolution), taken specifically.

American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) of the contiguous southern 13 colonies of the British Empire on the east coast of the North American mainland


American Revolution

(US, historical) The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) of the contiguous southern Thirteen Colonies of the British Empire on the east coast of the North American mainland.


Loyalist

Patriot

antonym(s) of “person during the American Revolution”

republican

antonym(s) of “supporter of Irish unification”

(US, Canada, historical) A person from the 13 Colonies (of British North America from the eastern seaboard of mainland North America) who was in favor of remaining in the British Empire during the American Revolution.


Boston Tea Party

(historical) A political protest that took place in Boston Harbour in 1773, in which demonstrators, in defiance of the Tea Act, destroyed an entire shipment of tea sent by the East India Company


Ticonderoga

From Mohawk tekontaró:ken, meaning "it is at the junction of two waterways".


Bunker Hill

The hill in Boston was named after 17th-century landowner George Bunker, originally as Bunker's Hill, and amended later.

The Battle of Bunker Hill (1775), in the American Revolution.


Chiến tranh Cách mạng Mĩ

[t͡ɕiən˧˦ t͡ɕajŋ̟˧˧ kajk̟̚˧˦ maːŋ˧˨ʔ mi˦ˀ˥]

[t͡ɕiəŋ˦˧˥ ʈɛɲ˧˧ kat̚˦˧˥ maːŋ˨˩ʔ mɪj˧˨]

[ciəŋ˦˥ ʈan˧˧ kat̚˦˥ maːŋ˨˩˨ mɪj˨˩˦]

chiến tranh (“war”) + cách mạng (“revolution”) + Mĩ (“America”).

com

(historical) the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783)