zipperhead meaning (slang): definition, etymology

zipperhead

noun

Etymology From zipper + head, in reference to the leather helmets used by early Canadian armoured crewmen, which had zipper-like stitching.

Government, Military, Politics, War Canada, Slang A soldier in the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps or in the Armoured Crewman military trade.

Synonyms: trooper, crewman, tanker, armoured crewman, armoured soldier, tread-head, treadhead

zipperhead

noun

Etymology Coined by US soldiers during the Vietnam War, apparently from zipper + head. The semantic motivation is unclear. One theory is that the Vietnamese were so called because their heads would split open in zipper-like fashion if they were shot in the right way; another is that zipper-like tracks would be left on them if they were run over by jeeps or tanks.

Government, Military, Politics, War US, Derogatory, Ethnic, Offensive, Slang, Slur A person of East Asian descent.

Synonyms: almond eyes, chicken lips, dink, gook, slant eye, slopehead, zipperlid