English · Idiom Historical

Green Linnets

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

The 39th Foot, so called from the colour of their facings. Now the- Dorsetshire, and the facings are white.

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.

Topics: Colors Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “Green Linnets” mean?

The 39th Foot, so called from the colour of their facings. Now the- Dorsetshire, and the facings are white.

Is “Green Linnets” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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