grayback
Body louse, informally
Grayback has several meanings united by the color gray.
It was a nickname for Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War, from their gray uniforms.
A grayback is also a body louse—the grayish parasites that infested soldiers in camps and trenches.
The word can refer to various gray-backed animals: certain whales, birds, or fish.
The troops were crawling with graybacks.
One exploiting a host
- infestationPest takeover situation
- nitParasite egg or quibble
- pediculosisInfestation of body lice
- itchingIrritating skin sensation
vermin · pest · clothing · typhus · delousing · scratching · cootie · bloodsucker
Armed forces member
- rebelAuthority defier
- ConfederateSecessionist state supporter
- DixieNickname for Confederate states
- secessionFormal withdrawal from union
graycoat · musket · infantry · battlefield · Antietam · Gettysburg · regiment · butternut
parasite
One exploiting a host
- infestationPest takeover situation
- nitParasite egg or quibble
- pediculosisInfestation of body lice
itching · vermin · pest · clothing · typhus · delousing · scratching · cootie · bloodsucker · hygiene
soldier
Armed forces member
- rebelAuthority defier
- ConfederateSecessionist state supporter
- DixieNickname for Confederate states
secession · graycoat · musket · infantry · battlefield · Antietam · Gettysburg · regiment · butternut · Southern
larva
Immature feeding stage
lawn · pest · infestation · soil · chafer · garden · grass · metamorphosis · pupa · cockchafer
cetacean
Aquatic mammal order
baleen · calf · breach · spout · blowhole · lagoon · coastal · marine · mammal · pod
- Civil War Slangskedaddle, Johnny Reb, bluebelly, copperhead, butternut
graybackUnion soldier
Northern Civil War fighter
bluebelly · Yankee · bluecoat · abolitionist
graybackblackfish
Dark-colored whale species
blue whale · white whale · beluga · orca