Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- a word used in communications to represent the letter C.
- Military Slang. Charley.
- a male given name, form of Charles.
- a female given name.
noun, plural Char·leys. Military Slang.
noun
- British informal a silly person; fool
- Australian old-fashioned, informal a girl or woman
noun
- communications a code word for the letter c
noun
- US and Australian military slang a member of the Vietcong or the Vietcong collectivelyCharlie hit us with rockets
noun
- slang cocaine
masc. proper name, familiar form of Charles (also see -y (3)); 1965 in Vietnam War U.S. military slang for “Vietcong, Vietcong soldier,” probably suggested by Victor Charlie, military communication code for V.C. (as abbreviation of Viet Cong), perhaps strengthened by World War II slang use of Charlie for Japanese soldiers, which itself is probably an extension of the 1930s derogatory application of Charlie to any Asian man, from fictional Chinese detective Charlie Chan.
Other applications include “a night watchman” (1812); “a goatee beard” (1834, from portraits of King Charles I and his contemporaries); “a fox” (1857); “a woman’s breasts” (1874); “an infantryman’s pack” (World War I); and “a white man” (Mr. Charlie), 1960, American English, from black slang.