Origins of nicknames for Premier League clubs

Supporters of Premier League clubs often pride themselves on their nicknames, but do you really know the origin of them? Do you know the origins of Gunners, Red Devils, Toffees, Trotters, Hammers, Lilywhites?

Lets take a closer at look some of the interesting stories behind each of Premier League clubs nicknames.

Arsenal — The Gunners

Like many, Arsenals nickname goes right back to when the club was originally founded. Way back in 1886, workers at Woolwich Arsenal Armament Factory decided to form a football club called Dial Square. The club would be renamed as Woolwich Arsenal before dropping the prefix in 1913, but their original connection with the armament industry would remain and the name Gunners is now synonymous with the club.

Chelsea — Pensioners

The nickname comes from the well known Chelsea Pensioners — war veterans living in a nearby hospital. In 1905 the club adopted the crest ofthe Chelsea pensioners, and the nickname followed on.

Everton — The Toffees

The famous nickname comes after a local sweet shop known as Mother Nobletts sold and advertised the Everton mint. The sweet shop is located opposite Prince Ruperts Tower, which forms the majority of the Everton crest.

Liverpool — The Reds

Another nickname which doesnt take two much explanation. When Liverpool adopted the citys colour of red as the colour of their strip, the nickname of the Reds simply followed on.

Manchester United — The Red Devils

A few conflicting stories describe the Red Devils nickname. One rumor suggests that during a tour of France in the 1960s the club were branded the Red Devils due to their red kit and Sir Matt Busby liked the name so much he asked for the club to incorporate a devil in the badge. Another story suggests it stems from local rugby Salford. The rugby club were nicknamed the Red Devils and with United formally training in Salford the nickname transferred over.

Newcastle United — Magpies/The Toon

The name Magpies originates from the clubs iconic black and white striped kit, where as “The Toon” comes from a local pronunciation of town.

Tottenham Hotspur — Spurs/Lilywhites

Spurs is obviously a shortened version of Hotspur which comes from the clubs connection with Shakespeare character Harry Hotspur. Lilywhites simply comes from the colour of Tottenhams home shirt.

West Ham — Hammers

West Hams nickname originates from the Thames Ironwork Football Club, a team from which they developed. The West Ham crest features two crossed rivet hammers and the club has been known has the Hammers ever since.

英超球隊昵稱溯源

英超球隊的球迷們對自己球隊的昵稱充滿了感情和敬意，但他們真的知道這些昵稱的來源？你又知道槍手、紅魔、太妃糖、快馬、鐵錘幫、白百合等昵稱的起源嗎？

讓我們走進英超球隊的歷史，了解他們昵稱的故事吧！

阿森納——槍手

和許多球隊一樣，阿森納的昵稱可以追溯到俱樂部成立之初。1886年，伍爾維奇兵工廠的工人們成立了一個名為達爾廣場（Dial Square）的足球俱樂部，并很快用廠名“伍爾維奇阿森納”取代了原名“達爾廣場”。到了1913年，俱樂部又去掉了前綴“伍爾維奇”。雖然和兵工廠脫離了從屬關系，但由于俱樂部和軍工業(yè)的這段淵源，球迷們樂于把“槍手”當作“阿森納”的同義詞。

切爾西——退休軍官

源于聞名遐邇的切爾西退休軍官團——住在當?shù)蒯t(yī)院的老兵組成的團體。1905年俱樂部采用了切爾西退休軍官團的紋章作為隊徽，“退休軍官”也就成了球隊的昵稱。

埃弗頓——太妃糖

這個著名的昵稱源自當?shù)匾患颐麨椤爸Z布里特夫人”的販賣埃弗頓薄菏糖的糖果店。該店位于魯伯特王子塔的對面，此塔正是埃弗頓隊徽的主要部分。

利物浦——紅軍

又一個無需過多解釋的昵稱。紅色是利物浦市的市色，當利物浦隊選擇紅色作為球隊顏色，“紅軍”也自然成為了球隊的昵稱。

曼徹斯特聯(lián)隊——紅魔

關于這個名字存在著一些互相矛盾的解釋。一種說法認為“紅魔”之名源自球隊1960年代的法國之旅?！凹t”源自球隊的紅色球衣，而“魔”則源于時任主帥馬特·巴斯比爵士的提議。他為了湊齊“紅魔”二字，甚至提議在隊徽上增加一個魔鬼圖案。另一種說法稱紅魔源于當?shù)匾恢ш欠Q為“紅魔”的橄欖球隊，兩隊同處一地，球迷們也用同樣的昵稱稱呼它們。

紐卡斯爾聯(lián)隊——喜鵲/圖恩

“喜鵲”源于該隊黑白相間的球衣。“圖恩”（Toon）是當?shù)胤窖灾小笆小保═own，即紐卡斯爾市）的諧音。

托特拉姆熱刺——熱刺/白百合

熱刺(spur)源于莎士比亞筆下的角色豪斯伯（Hotspur, 此人喜歡在斗雞腿上裝上小刺）?！鞍装俸稀眲t源于球隊主場球衣的顏色。

西漢姆聯(lián)隊——鐵錘幫

西漢姆聯(lián)隊的昵稱“鐵錘幫”源于球隊的雛形泰晤士鐵制品廠足球俱樂部（Thames Ironwork Football Club）。球隊的隊徽上有兩個交叉的鉚釘錘，這也讓人們把球隊和鐵錘聯(lián)系在一起。 （譯言網）