1914-1918 : les boissons des Poilus
The Great War of 1914-1918: The Drinks of the Poilus

Summary/Abstract: During the Great War (1914-1918), soldiers were bruised in their flesh and their spirit during bloody battles (Goudaillier, 2016). The food designations for poilus (French soldiers) were presented in a previous publication; it is now important to study what they were drinking when in the front line. By analysing data from linguistic writings – such as surveys and dictionaries (cf, among others, Dauzat, 1918) as well as personal writings of the poilus (mail, letters, postcards) and literary writings (war books, trench diaries, novels, memoirs) (see Goudaillier, 2014) – it is possible to highlight the popular and/or slang terms and expressions used by those fighters in trenches on the French side to designate drinks (water, coffee, wine, and other alcoholic beverages) as well as the linguistic means by which they were sent to the front.

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