Redleg

Okay kiddo, so have you seen soldiers wearing socks that are really red and they have a cool logo on them? Those are called redlegs.

Now, the word actually comes from a long time ago when soldiers used big cannons to shoot at their enemies. The soldiers who were in charge of those cannons were called artillerymen. And the cannons they used had big wheels with red wooden spokes which made them stand out from the other parts of the cannon.

So, whenever people saw those red spokes rolling towards them, they knew that the artillerymen were about to shoot and make a really loud noise. And because of that, those artillerymen became known as redlegs.

Today, soldiers who work with big guns like howitzer cannons are still called redlegs because of their history with using those old-timey cannons with red spokes.