Japanese-Americans Expert Nicknamers

Nicknames are often a good index to the Americanization of our citizens of foreign ancestry. Nicknames are universal but only Americans have perfected the art of bestowing them with great irreverence to fit the subject.

Nicknames of Japanese-American soldiers in training here for a combat team are particularly revealing. The soldiers take great delight in naming each other with monikers that are a far cry from those that appear on the baptismal records. And the names they pick invariably stick and are worn with pride by the namee.

For instance, one short, chubby soldier has been dubbed “five by five,” which in turn has been shortened to “Five.”

Another Kewpie-faced private is known to his associates as "Jack O Lantern,” shortened to “Lantern.”

A former Honolulu policeman is “The Shadow” to his company. Others who came from the police force in Hawaii are “Dick Tracy,” “Copper” and “Flatfoot.”

“Shoestring” is a cook — a tribute to his artistry in potatoes. “Cannonball” is a hot shot with grenades and “Blackout” got that way from long exposure to the Hawaii sun.

Long ago a Latin scholar coined the expression: “Lucus a non lucindo” which may be broadly translated by saying that people give a particular name to anything because it isn't so. That’s calling a tall man “Shorty” and a fat one “Skinny.” For some reason — perhaps they are a might too literal — the Japanese-Americans rarely resort to the Lucus system of bestowing nicknames. Their “Peewees,” “Shrimps,” "Peepsights” and “Shorties” usually are aptly described.

Comic strips in the newspapers afford a common source of nicknames. “Wimpy” and “Popeye” are represented as well as “Big Stoop” and “Li’l Abner,” “Foggy,” “Alibi Ike” and “Poolshark” are devious personal tributes, but like so many other Americanisms they have a way of catching on.