Meaning of redshirt | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A supporter of the Italian nationalist leader Giuseppe Garibaldi, especially a member of his thousand-man army which conquered Sicily.
   historical
2. A revolutionary or anarchist.
   historical
3. A college athlete who spends a year not participating in official athletic activities, but does not lose his or her eligibility to participate in following years.
   US
4. An unimportant character introduced only to be killed in order to underscore the peril to the important characters; an expendable character.
   slang
5. A person responsible for loading and unloading weapons, artillery, and equipment from aircraft.
   US

Examples

“Loyal regiments from Naples and other provinces of the mainland fought valiantly and were victorious un several skirmishes against the redshirts near Capua.”

“Sensing danger, Captain Kirk decided to beam down to the surface with Spock, McCoy, and a couple of redshirts.”

“I am not a goddamn redshirt! I have a purpose!”

“As armoured personnel carriers rumbled on to Bangkok's deserted streets, thousands of troops fanned out in a cordon across the city, surrounding the redshirts' fortified protest camp.”

“Like the leaders they opposed, they had participated in the "Redshirt" campaign of 1876 and 1877 that redeemed the state for home rule and founded the new establishment.”

“Families and supporters of the Redshirt protesters in Thailand handed in a letter to the London embassy yesterday calling for an end to the killings and suppression of pro-democracy campaigners.”

“In this process, known as the Risorgimento, Garibaldi led his Redshirt followers to decisive victories over the Spanish Bourbon and Austrian Habsburg dynasties that still ruled much of Italy.”

CEFR level