General
armored heifer
What does armored heifer mean?
By extension, any tinned dairy product served in a mess hall or field kitchen.
"Breakfast was powdered eggs and a splash of armored heifer."
Origin
U.S. military mess-hall slang of the 1940s, a wry name for canned milk — the 'armor' being the tin and the 'heifer' the cow it replaced. It was part of the colorful chow-line vocabulary of WWII GIs.
Frequently asked questions
What does armored heifer mean?
It's 1940s soldier slang for canned or condensed milk.
Where did the term come from?
From WWII U.S. mess halls in the 1940s, joking that the tin 'armored' the cow.
Why couldn't soldiers get fresh milk?
Fresh dairy spoiled fast and couldn't be shipped to the front, so canned milk was issued instead.
Were there other food nicknames like this?
Plenty — GIs nicknamed nearly every mess-hall item, from 'collision mats' for waffles to 'battery acid' for bad coffee.
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