# General McAuliffe's alleged "Nuts!"...What did he really say? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 18, 2006, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-mcauliffes-alleged-nuts-what-did-he-really-say/380955 "2006-11-18T16:58:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![newcrasher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b3f665/32.png) [@newcrasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcrasher)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-mcauliffes-alleged-nuts-what-did-he-really-say/380955/1 "2006-11-18T16:58:04Z")
I cannot believe he really said “Nuts!”. Was his response sanitized for 1940s public sensibilities? ---
**Author:** ![diku](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@diku](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diku)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-mcauliffes-alleged-nuts-what-did-he-really-say/380955/2 "2006-11-18T17:16:48Z")
[QUOTE=newcrasher] I cannot believe he really said “Nuts!”. Was his response sanitized for 1940s public sensibilities? [/QUOTE] This is from **Delivered From Evil, The Saga of World War II** by Robert Leckie: > [@](#): > > "The note was brough tto the office command the battle in Bastogne, Brig. Gen Anthony McAuliffe. It was read by his chief of staff, Lt. Col. Ned D. Moore. > > “What does is say, Ned?” McAuliffe asked. > > “They want you to surrender.” > > “Aw, nuts!” McAuliffe exclaimed. Annoyed, he tried to think of a suitably defiant and derisive reply until Lt. Col. Harry Kinnard remarked, “That first crack you made would be hard to beat.” > > “What was that?” > > “Nuts.” > > Seizing a pen, McAuliffe wrote, “To the German Commander: ‘Nuts!’ From the American Commander.” May have been sanitized, but I doubt it. Nothing I’ve ever read on the topic implies that something different was said. The book goes on to say that the Germans didn’t understand the reply, so Go to Hell was sent back, with a promise to kill every German that attacked. ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-mcauliffes-alleged-nuts-what-did-he-really-say/380955/3 "2006-11-18T17:26:20Z")
In addition, here’s what Wikipedia [has to say:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_McAuliffe) > [@](#): > > According to various accounts from those present, when McAuliffe was told of the German demand for surrender he said “Aww, nuts”. At a loss for an official reply, those around him said that his first remark summed the situation up well. The official reply: ‘To the German Commander, “Nuts!”’ was typed and delivered by Colonel Harper to the German delegation. Harper had to explain the meaning of the word to the Germans. Some sources have suggested that McAuliffe’s initial remark was in rather stronger language. In an interview McAuliffe gave in his office in the spring of 1954 to a group of ALOs (Air Liaison Officers), McAuliffe was asked what he really said, and McAuliffe replied he said “shit” to the German delegation. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-mcauliffes-alleged-nuts-what-did-he-really-say/380955/4 "2006-11-18T21:15:32Z")
[Here is an interview with Lt. General Harry Kinnard](http://www.thedropzone.org/europe/Bulge/kinnard.html) who was the 101st Airborne Divisions G3 and was present at the time. His report is that McAuliffe said, “Us surrender? Aw nuts.” Here is the applicable part of the interview. > [@](#): > > The message was brought in to the Division Headquarters by Major Alvin Jones, the S-3, and Colonel Harper, the Regimental Commander. They brought the message to me, the G-3 and Paul Danahy, the G-2. My first reaction was that this was a German ruse, designed to get our men out of their fox holes. But be that as it might, we agreed that we needed to take the message up the line. We took it first to the acting Chief of Staff of the Division, Lt. Col. Ned Moore. With him, we took the message to the acting Division Commander General Tony McAuliffe. Moore told General McAuliffe that we had a German surrender ultimatum. The General’s first reaction was that the Germans wanted to surrender to us. Col. Moore quickly disabused him of that notion and explained that the German’s demanded our surrender. When McAuliffe heard that he laughed and said: “Us surrender? Aw, nuts!” the date was December 22nd, 1944 However, it’s a losing battle. People won’t be happy without McAuliffe turning the air blue for a hundred yards in all direction. ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-mcauliffes-alleged-nuts-what-did-he-really-say/380955/5 "2006-11-18T21:31:55Z")
David is a bit older than I, but it’s my sense of the matter that courser profanity wasn’t nearly as common back then as it is today. That would be especially true of more mature, responsible men. “Nuts” would have been a pretty strong epithet in the 40’s, even though it sounds very mild today. ---
**Author:** ![Themenin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ee59a6/32.png) [@Themenin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Themenin)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-mcauliffes-alleged-nuts-what-did-he-really-say/380955/6 "2006-11-18T23:38:12Z")
This incident is somewhat reminiscent of Cambronne at Waterloo, who is reputed to have answered _‘merde’_ to the British request for his surrender. There’s some dispute about whether it really happened, but the story has stuck (when you start slinging _merde_…) ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-mcauliffes-alleged-nuts-what-did-he-really-say/380955/7 "2006-11-19T00:06:41Z")
… and in any case, what passes onto history is not what he may have thought/blurted out upon hearing the challenge to surrender, but what he wrote down onto the piece of paper delivered back to the Germans, which **was** “NUTS”… as \*\*A. R. Cane \*\* mentions, in that particular age it would be considered strong enough for an exchange between commanding officers (…wonder if a Brit commander would have answered “Bollocks!”). ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-mcauliffes-alleged-nuts-what-did-he-really-say/380955/8 "2006-11-19T00:13:04Z")
[QUOTE=A.R. Cane] David is a bit older than I, but it’s my sense of the matter that courser profanity wasn’t nearly as common back then as it is today. That would be especially true of more mature, responsible men. “Nuts” would have been a pretty strong epithet in the 40’s, even though it sounds very mild today. [/QUOTE] As I said in another thread, I didn’t hear much swearing, if any, from our group’s commanders. “Nuts” wouldn’t have been particulary strong language even in i944. It was more like a disgusted comment to what was regarded by McAuliffe as a frivolous demand. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-mcauliffes-alleged-nuts-what-did-he-really-say/380955/9 "2006-11-19T02:05:49Z")
…um, ‘nuts’ would explain why the response had to be explained to the Germans… who should have been able to figure out what ‘shit’ meant… ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-mcauliffes-alleged-nuts-what-did-he-really-say/380955/10 "2006-11-19T02:24:51Z")
[QUOTE=Civil Guy] …um, ‘nuts’ would explain why the response had to be explained to the Germans… who should have been able to figure out what ‘shit’ meant… [/QUOTE] Historian John Toland gives a more complete account in his book _Battle: Story of the Bulge._ The German party came with the message which was finally given to McAuliffe eliciting his comment. He then returned to other, pressing business regarding the disposition of the troops, getting defences, living quarters, etc. organized. The 101st division had only been in Bastogne a few days and hadn’t been surrounded until 21 December. The German message was ignored. Some time later the Germans said they wanted an answer and Toland’s account continues as in General Kinnard’s > [@](#): > > But then McAuliffe realized that some sort of reply was in order. He pondered for a few minutes and then told the staff, “Well I don’t know what to tell them.” He then asked the staff what they thought, and I spoke up, saying, “That first remark of yours would be hard to beat.” McAuliffe said, “What do you mean?” I answered, “Sir, you said ‘Nuts’.” All members of the staff enthusiastically agreed, and McAuliffe decided to send that one word, “Nuts!” back to the Germans. McAuliffe then wrote down: "To the German Commander: “Nuts.” The American Commander. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-mcauliffes-alleged-nuts-what-did-he-really-say/380955/11 "2006-11-19T02:33:58Z")
Do we know for sure that “nuts” was intended as a profanity at all? I’ve seen and heard it used all the time as a mild imprecation like “rats.” I think I’ve even seen it Charlie Brown comics. ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-mcauliffes-alleged-nuts-what-did-he-really-say/380955/12 "2006-11-19T03:04:05Z")
I think the answer to the OP is that the original response was, indeed, “NUTS”, just as it’s recorded in history, and an appropriate American response it was, for the era. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-mcauliffes-alleged-nuts-what-did-he-really-say/380955/13 "2006-11-19T03:23:31Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] Do we know for sure that “nuts” was intended as a profanity at all? I’ve seen and heard it used all the time as a mild imprecation like “rats.” I think I’ve even seen it Charlie Brown comics. [/QUOTE] Nuts was not, in that context, in any way associated with testicles, but was an expression of mild frustration with a hint of insanity or madness. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-mcauliffes-alleged-nuts-what-did-he-really-say/380955/14 "2006-11-19T04:27:32Z")
Never mind that. When [Cambronne](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambronne) was asked to surrender at Waterloo, did he reply “The Guard dies, but never surrenders,” or simply, _“merde”?_ ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-mcauliffes-alleged-nuts-what-did-he-really-say/380955/15 "2006-11-19T04:35:47Z")
I have heard that McAuliffe actually said “Balls!” and it got bowdlerized in the press, but that makes no sense; “balls” is simply equivalent Brit slang, and not a word a Yank would have chosen. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-mcauliffes-alleged-nuts-what-did-he-really-say/380955/16 "2006-11-19T04:54:49Z")
As long as we’re straightening things out about “Nuts” we might as well point out that the 101st Airborne Division wasn’t alone at Bastogne and give credit to the others. [This site gives as complete a listing of all those engaged there as can be had.](http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/wwii/articles/bastogne.aspx) Combat Command B, 10th Armored Division, probably a tank regiment with supporting infantry. Survivors of the 110 infantry, a mechanized infantry regiment a part of the 28th Infantry Division. An unknown number of engineers from an unknown command. Combat Command R of the 9th Armored Division. Three 155 mm artillery battalions and an armored field artillery battalion from the Ninth Army. 705th Tank Destroyer battalion, also from the Ninth Army. The US forces were encircled in Bastogne for 4 days. The defense of the town forced the advancing Germans northward where the roads were clear and allowed strong defenses to be established on the sourther flank so that a breakout into the US rear in the south was denied. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-mcauliffes-alleged-nuts-what-did-he-really-say/380955/17 "2006-11-19T05:23:04Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Never mind that. When [Cambronne](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambronne) was asked to surrender at Waterloo, did he reply “The Guard dies, but never surrenders,” or simply, _“merde”?_ [/QUOTE] There is little evidence that he actually said “merde.” Later in life, he personally denied he said it. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-mcauliffes-alleged-nuts-what-did-he-really-say/380955/18 "2006-11-19T05:28:18Z")
"I was always under the impression that back then, saying “Nuts” was roughly the equivalent of “Go screw yourself”. or at least, “Not a chance, bub.” “Nuts to you” was a common phrase later, but did it predate the war? Or did it become a common phrase because of what McCauliffe said? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-mcauliffes-alleged-nuts-what-did-he-really-say/380955/19 "2006-11-19T06:53:05Z")
Random House Word Maven on [Nuts](http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=20010824). The Word Detective on [Nuts](http://www.word-detective.com/041899.html#nuts). The Oxford English Dictionary traces the usage “Nuts” to 1931, > [@](#): > > **e.** _Pl_ Used as a derisive retort: nonsense, rubbish; I defy you. This definition is placed beneath > [@](#): > > **7.** _slang_ The head, (of a person). with related definitions connected to a lack of mental competence and not connected to definition **I. 1. f.** which refers to testicles. (In fairness, Partridge does associate it with testicles, although he uses later citations and, I would say, has a tendency to look for the prurient, although he does do a decent (not perfect) job of supporting his claims. Still, the Random House, American Heritage, and Merriam-Webster dictionaries all follow the lead of the O.E.D. in relating the meaning to mental instability rather than to the testicles.) ---
**Author:** ![Tartuffe52](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc29f/32.png) [@Tartuffe52](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tartuffe52)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2006, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-mcauliffes-alleged-nuts-what-did-he-really-say/380955/20 "2006-11-19T11:04:39Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] Random House Word Maven on [Nuts](http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=20010824). The Word Detective on [Nuts](http://www.word-detective.com/041899.html#nuts). The Oxford English Dictionary traces the usage “Nuts” to 1931, This definition is placed beneath with related definitions connected to a lack of mental competence and not connected to definition **I. 1. f.** which refers to testicles. (In fairness, Partridge does associate it with testicles, although he uses later citations and, I would say, has a tendency to look for the prurient, although he does do a decent (not perfect) job of supporting his claims. Still, the Random House, American Heritage, and Merriam-Webster dictionaries all follow the lead of the O.E.D. in relating the meaning to mental instability rather than to the testicles.) [/QUOTE] I actually got the impression that Gen. McCauliffe said “fuck” but I don’t remember where I read that. The poster who stated that profanity wasn’t as common then as now was indeed correct. I’m 43, and the “f word” wasn’t anywhere near as commonly heard when I was a kid as it is now. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-mcauliffes-alleged-nuts-what-did-he-really-say/380955.md?page=2)