411 REFERENCE · Wiktionary
Dirty Half Hundred
Reference material by Wiktionary contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
English
Etymology
On account of their tattered and soiled appearance during the Peninsular War.
Proper noun
Dirty Half Hundred 1
en UK military slang historical The 50th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot.
References
en 1873 John Camden Hotten The Slang Dictionary