Buckmaster's Light Infantry
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
The 3rd West India Regiment was so called from Buckmaster, the tailor, who used to issue "Light Infantry uniforms" to the officers of the corps without any authority from the Commander-m-Chief.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Buckmaster's Light Infantry” mean?
The 3rd West India Regiment was so called from Buckmaster, the tailor, who used to issue "Light Infantry uniforms" to the officers of the corps without any authority from the Commander-m-Chief.
Is “Buckmaster's Light Infantry” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.