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Boche

also boche (bŏsh, bôsh)

n. Offensive Slang

A German, especially a German soldier in World War I or World War II.

[French, alteration of Alboche, blend of Allemand, German; see allemande, and French dialectal caboche, cabbage, blockhead; see cabbage.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Boche

(bɒʃ)

(esp in World Wars I and II) n

1. a German, esp a German soldier

2. the Boche (usually functioning as plural) Germans collectively, esp German soldiers regarded as the enemy

[C20: from French, probably shortened from alboche German, from allemand German + caboche pate]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Boche

(bɒʃ, bɔʃ)

n., pl. Boche, Boches (bosh, bôsh).

usage: This term dates back to World War I and was also used in World War II, but it appears today only in historical contexts. It is used with disparaging intent and is perceived as highly insulting.

—n.

(sometimes l.c.) Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. (a contemptuous term used to refer to a German, esp. a German soldier in World War I and II.)

[1910–15; < French, aph. variant of alboche German]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

Boche - offensive term for a person of German descent

Jerry, Kraut, Krauthead, Hun

derogation, disparagement, depreciation - a communication that belittles somebody or something

jargon, lingo, patois, argot, vernacular, slang, cant - a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves); "they don't speak our lingo"

German - a person of German nationality

Translations

Boche

[bɒʃ]

A. ADJ (pej) → alemán, tudesco

B. N (pej) → boche m, alemán m
the Boche → los alemanes

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

Boche

n (pej inf) → Boche m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

I hastily pushed the girl down the companionway leading to the engine-room, and then I raised my pistol and fired my first shot at a boche. What happened in the next few seconds happened so quickly that details are rather blurred in my memory.

My boche was bearing me toward the side of the submarine against which the tug was still pounding.

At first the boches didn't seem to grasp his intention.

I sprang from the pilot-house and followed, not to be left out in the cold when it came to strafing the boches. From the engine room companionway came the engineer and stockers, and together we leaped after the balance of the crew and into the hand-to-hand fight that was covering the wet deck with red blood.

Immediately I was put in command, and the first thing I did was to go below with Olson and inspect the craft thoroughly for hidden boches and damaged machinery.

View in context

It was the second time he had spoken in three days and perhaps his very silence, ominous in itself, had done more to arouse terror in the breast of the Boche than even the spear point, ever ready as it always was.

View in context

Viewers will be able to giggle over jibes that "the Boche" are "damn foreigners" who do not wash and have "foreign smells" coming from their kitchens.

Dad's Army remake keeps German jibes

He wrote later: "Imagine my surprise and horror when I saw a whole crowd of armed Boches! I stood there for a moment feeling a bit sort of shy, and then levelled my revolver at the nearest Boche and shouted, 'Hands up, all the lot of you!' A few went up at once, then a few more and then the lot and I felt the proudest fellow in the world as I cursed them."

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON... VC HEROICS OF 'BILLY THE KID' Last week we featured Burton's Walter Congreve, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his heroics in the Boer War. His son Billy also gained a VC, making the pair one of only three father-son holders of Britain's top military honour. Today, MIKE LOCKLEY looks at the distinguished career of Billy, or to give his full name, William La Touche Congreve

It was difficult not to feel, as one looked around the hideous wreckage of what once had been a pleasant, stately little town, that the Boche had found a fitting tomb."

The French town with a 'Rue de Birmingham' HowAlbert on the Somme came to be adopted by the city

During the first three weeks of June the battalion was out of the line 'at rest' but on 23rd the battalion returned to the front, with headquarters at Boche Spur.

Ivor was: 'The life and soul of our concert party'

"This seemed to enrage the Boche, who directed all his available fire in the direction of the sound.

Remembering the heroism of Arthur, who braved German machine gun fire to save men; Rhymney Sergeant Arthur Parry, of the Royal Engineers, played a vital role in the construction of the Amazon Bridge in Italy during World War II. Anna Lewis tells his story

A Once, during a performance of Mametz (a National Theatre Wales play about the battle of Mametz Wood during the Great War), instead of saying "the Rhodri Meilir will appear in the Theatr Bara Caws production "Dwyn i Gof" Boche have cleared our lines" my mouth decided that I should say "the Bish have cleared our lones" which made me sound like Officer Crabtree from 'Allo!

Family confront some uncomfortable truths; Rhodri Meilir How old are you? 39 Where are you from? Mold Tell us a little known fact about yourself: I can play piano to Grade 3 standard and have taught myself to play guitar