Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

thin red line

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.38 in modern English

Syllables
thin red -line
IPA
15
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

name

The members of the 93rd Regiment of the British Army who met the charge of the Russian cavalry at the Battle of Balaclava in 1854.

name

Any thinly spread military unit holding firm against attack.

Etymology

William H. Russell, Times Correspondent at the Battle of Balaclava, wrote that he could see nothing between the charging Russians and the British regiment's base of operations at Balaclava but the “thin red streak tipped with a line of steel”. The condensed phrase “the thin red line” came to represent British composure in battle.

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Military.

Inflected Forms

the Thin Red Line (canonical)

Phrases

green line red line single yellow line thin blue line

Frequently Paired Words

green line red line single yellow line thin blue line

Questions

What does thin red line mean?
The members of the 93rd Regiment of the British Army who met the charge of the Russian cavalry at the Battle of Balaclava in 1854.
Where does thin red line come from?
William H. Russell, Times Correspondent at the Battle of Balaclava, wrote that he could see nothing between the charging Russians and the British regiment's base of operations at Balaclava but the “thin red streak tipped with a line of steel”. The condensed phrase “the thin red line” came to represent British composure in battle.

How to pronounce thin red line

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