English · Idiom Historical

Old Fogs

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

The 87th Foot, the Royal Irish Fusiliers, so called from the war-cry "Fag-an-Bealach" (Clear the way), pronounced Faug-a-bolla%h.

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: Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “Old Fogs” mean?

The 87th Foot, the Royal Irish Fusiliers, so called from the war-cry "Fag-an-Bealach" (Clear the way), pronounced Faug-a-bolla%h.

Is “Old Fogs” formal or informal?

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

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