A Dictionary of Epithets and Terms of Address
One of the many instant nicknames that a red-headed person, especially a child, is likely to attract. The title of David Lodge’s novel about army life, Ginger, you’re Barmy alludes both to the vocative and the traditional playground chant that accompanies it: ‘Ginger, you’re barmy/You’ll never join the army/You’ll never make a scout/With your shirt hanging out,/Ginger, you’re barmy.’ While ‘Ginger’ is probably the most frequently employed playground term, it has many variants, some based on Ginger itself.
These include: Ginge, Ginger conk (=‘nose’), Ginger mop, Ginger nob, Ginger nut, Ginger Tom, Gingy. Other favourites include: beetroot, carrots, carrot top, copper crust, coppernob, fire bucket, reddy, red mop, red thatch, Rufus, the last named alluding to Rufus the Red, third son of William the Conqueror who became William II of England.
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