The Bloody Eleventh
Preserved but no longer current.
The old llth Foot, "The Devonshire Regiment," was so called from their having been several times nearly annihilated, as at Almanza, Fontenoy, Roucoux, Ostend, and Salamanca (1812), in capturing a French standard.
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 “The Bloody Eleventh” mean?
The old llth Foot, "The Devonshire Regiment," was so called from their having been several times nearly annihilated, as at Almanza, Fontenoy, Roucoux, Ostend, and Salamanca (1812), in capturing a French standard.
Is “The Bloody Eleventh” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.