# A Sloppy Joe question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-sloppy-joe-question/1010786>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Tags:** food-cooking\
**Created:** [November 26, 2024, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-sloppy-joe-question/1010786 "2024-11-26T02:51:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2026, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-sloppy-joe-question/1010786/61 "2026-05-02T12:47:45Z")

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> [@terentii](#):
>
> “Tommies,” BTW, came from “Tommy Atkins,” roughly the British equivalent of “GI Joe.” The term was supposedly coined by the Duke of Wellington in 1843, in honor of a soldier with that name.

As far as the term “Uncle Sam” is concerned, the story I heard is that it originated in the early 1800s among American soldiers, whose equipment was stamped “U.S. approved” by government inspectors. The troops took this to mean “Our gear was approved by ‘Uncle Sam,’” supposedly a minor official, and the name stuck.

In the modern term “GI Joe,” the GI stands for “Government Inspected,” a reference to every soldier’s kit.

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**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2026, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-sloppy-joe-question/1010786/62 "2026-05-02T13:36:02Z")

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More “Government Issue” than “Inspected.”

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**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2026, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-sloppy-joe-question/1010786/63 "2026-05-02T13:38:17Z")

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You are correct, thanks. 👍

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**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\
**Post date:** [May 3, 2026, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-sloppy-joe-question/1010786/64 "2026-05-03T00:35:10Z")

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> [@terentii](#):
>
> In the modern term “GI Joe,” the GI stands for “Government Inspected,”

“Government Issue” was the way I learned it.

And speaking of [Tommy Atkins](https://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/poem/poems_tommy.htm),

> Yes, makin’ mock o’ uniforms that guard you while you sleep  
> Is cheaper than them uniforms, an’ they’re starvation cheap.  
> An’ hustlin’ drunken soldiers when they’re goin’ large a bit  
> Is five times better business than paradin’ in full kit.  
> Then it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ Tommy, 'ow’s yer soul?"  
> But it’s “Thin red line of 'eroes” when the drums begin to roll  
> The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,  
> O it’s “Thin red line of 'eroes,” when the drums begin to roll.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\
**Post date:** [May 3, 2026, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-sloppy-joe-question/1010786/65 "2026-05-03T00:47:57Z")

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> [@DesertDog](#):
>
> “Government Issue” was the way I learned it.

Yes, I should have caught that before I posted it. Mea culpa.

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