Soldiers often come up with a name for the enemy that's easy to remember, usually quicker to say than their actual name. Sometimes this is a racial or ethnic slur (and in some cases becomes such a slur); sometimes it's a cultural reference, and sometimes refers to appearance. Doing so is commonly a form of {{Demonization}} and has the effect of 'Othering' the enemy, making them seem less human, thus keeping the troops from considering [[WhatMeasureIsAMook the enemy's humanity]], and thus making it easier for the troops to kill them. For that reason, the practice is often encouraged (or at least not discouraged) by the troops' superiors while the war's going on. In science fiction or fantasy settings, this is made even easier when the enemy is [[WhatMeasureIsANonhuman not the same species as the troops]].

These designations often find a way into propaganda and slogans used to whip up civilian support for the war effort, and continued use of these terms after the war can indicate a person who lived through the war and either adopted the term as a habit of speech or is having trouble moving past those years.

A subtrope of {{Demonization}}. Compare to WhatMeasureIsAMook, FantasticSlur, ReportingNames.


!!Examples:

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[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* Done in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'', in which the Federation forces were termed "Fedies", and Zeon forces called "Zeeks".
** Less creatively, the Alliance soldiers in ''GundamSEED'' are known to refer to Coordinators as "Space Monsters".

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[[folder: Film ]]

* ''Film/EnemyMine'': Dracs are called "lizards" by humans.
* Film/BladeRunner uses the term "Skinjobs" to refer to Replicants.
* ''Film/{{District 9}}''[='s=] "Prawns."
* In both the 1988 film ''Film/AlienNation'' and the [[Series/AlienNation 1989 Fox series that continued the film's storyline]], the humanoid alien race is officially referred to as "Newcomers." The epithet "Slag" is used by the bigots who target them.
* ''ThreeKings'' had several soldiers [[DiscussedTrope discussing]] which nicknames for the Iraqis were appropriate and which ones were not. One particularly dim-witted soldier complains that he just can't keep it all straight.

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[[folder: Literature ]]

* In Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Literature/StarshipTroopers,'' Humanity's main opponent was officially known as the Arachnids (or Pseudo Arachnids), but the MI called them the Bugs.
-->"The historians can't seem to settle whether to call this one 'The Third Space War' (or the fourth), or whether 'The First Interstellar War' fits it better. We just call it 'The BugWar'."
** The other opponent's official name was never mentioned, but the MI called them the Skinnies.
* In both the book and the movie ''BlackHawkDown'', the Somalians are referred to as "Skinnies" by the Rangers, as they apparently were in real life. While many assume that this refers to the malnutrition of the locals, it's actually a reference to ''Starship Troopers'', which is a popular book among the battalion and required reading at West Point.
* In LarryNiven and Jerry Pournelle's ''Literature/{{Footfall}},'' the invading aliens are called the Fithp, but humans call them Snouts because they look like baby elephants with two trunks.
* In ''HoratioHornblower'' Frenchmen are always referred to as Frogs, and the Spaniards are called Dagos.
* ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' has "Manties" (Star Kingdom/Empire of Manticore), "Peeps" (People's Repubic of Haven),"Andies" (Andermani Empire), "Sillies" or "Confeds" (Silesian Confederacy), and "Sollies" (Solarian League).
** Haven's State Security troopers get called Black Legs, owing to their black uniform trousers.
* ''WorldWarZ'': United States soldiers referred to the undead as Zack; in the United Kingdom and Europe, they called them Zed.
* In the ''{{Worldwar}}'' series, humans are called Big Uglies, the Race are called Lizards.
* In ''TheDresdenFiles'', being TheNicknamer, Harry Dresden does this with most of his enemies (and his allies tend to pick them up). Since IKnowYourTrueName is in effect in this universe this is actually quite a good strategy (some enemies are actually weakened by being referred to by nicknames).
** Lampshaded with the Denarians, who Harry learned the name of before interacting with them much, and as such, never gave a nickname to (although, even then, their "official" name is "Order of the Blackened Denarius"). When they show back up, he remarks that actually calling them "Denarians" is giving them far too much credit, and asks his allies for suggested nicknames (they go with "Nickelheads").
** And subverted when he attempts to give a nickname to an Archangel, who is ''extremely'' displeased about it, and quite clearly points out to Harry how offensive it was.
* The "Buggers" in ''EndersGame''.
* ''TheMoteInGodsEye'':
** The humans nickname the aliens "Moties", since its believed that the alien probe came from the star called "The Mote". Though, it's done not because they're at war, but because they didn't know what the alien's name.
** "Outies" refers to anyone trying to fight against the Second Empire of Man.
* In the Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse, the Rebels derisively call Imperials "Bucketheads". More often, they use the term "Imps".
** [[NewJediOrder "Yuuzhan Vong"]] is often shortened to "Vong" by New Republic (then Galactic Alliance) forces. Incidentally this is an insult: using just that part of the name implies the individual is without the favor of the gods. [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Given the circumstances]], the GFFA denizens don't generally care. Meanwhile the fanbase uses "Vong" purely for the sake of convenience.
*** "Vong" is for convenience. When people want to get insulting and/or angry they refer to them as "scarheads" due to their ritual scars, which are used to mark rank.
* In the ''Literature/StarCarrier'' series Confederation military personnel call the [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Turusch]] by a variety of puns on their name, including "Tush," "Tushies," and "Trash." Their fighters are "Toads" due to looking rather like a lumpy potato.

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[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* ''Series/{{Mash}}'': both North and South Koreans are occasionally called "Gooks" by unsympathetic guest characters.
* ''Series/SpaceAboveAndBeyond'': The term "Chigs" were used to refer to their alien enemies.
** Meanwhile, a [[AIIsACrapShoot Silicate]] agent informs the humans that the Chigs have their own unflattering nickname for the humans, which loosely translates as "Red Stink Creature" - [[NotSoDifferent rather close in meaning]] to what the humans call them. Just as we think the Chigs seem "unnatural" by Terran standards because they have green blood and smell like sulfur, by the standards of what "normal" life forms are on the Chig homeworld, our red blood and non-sulfur smell is disgusting and frightening to them.
* ''[[Series/BattlestarGalacticaReimagined Battlestar Galactica's]]'' remake has the cylons as "Toasters". Human-form cylons are also called "skinjobs".
* The saurian ScaryDogmaticAliens of ''{{V}}'' call themselves "visitors" and are referred to as "lizards".
* ''Series/{{Ultraviolet}}'', a character who is a former soldier refers to [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Code 5's]] as "leeches".
* Most of the dinosaurs in ''Series/LandOfTheLost'' were given nicknames. The local T-Rex was called Grumpy.
* Independent-leaning characters in ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' are known to call Alliance troops "purple-bellies".
* In ''Franchise/StarTrek'', Cardassians are commonly called "Cardies" or "spoonheads" by their enemies, chiefly Bajorans. Cardassians in turn refer to Klingons as "[[RubberForeheadAliens foreheads]]".
* In ''Series/StargateSG1'', O'Neill occasionally refers to the Goa'uld as "snake-heads". This name derives from several things. First, it's a reference to the [[PuppeteerParasite symbiote]] that all Goa'uld carry in their heads. It can also be applied to the [[{{Mooks}} Jaffa]] of [[ArcVillain Apophis]], whose [[FacelessGoons helmets]] are in the shape of a [[DressCodedForYourConvenience snake's head]], and who have a crude [[SlaveTattoo tattoo of a snake on their foreheads]].

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[[folder: Video Games ]]

* In ''AceCombat5'', the Oseans refer to Yuktobanians as "Yukes".
* In ''Franchise/{{Halo}},'' the marines call the Elites "split-lips."
** In fact, most alien names in the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' universe fit this trope: Grunts, Jackals, Brutes, Elites, Hunters, Buggers, Grubs, and Prophets are all nicknames given by humans to refer to the separate races that compose the coalition of aliens they're at war with. Even their vehicles (Ghosts, Wraiths, Banshees) are [[ReportingName nicknamed]].
* In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', Ghouls refer to humans as "Smoothskins." However, it's not clear whether this is necessarily a slur, as even friendly, sympathetic Ghouls refer to humans as this, sometimes even to their faces. On the other hand, when humans refer to Ghouls as "Zombies," it's ''definitely'' intended to be derogatory.
** Ditto when Three Dog refers to the Super Mutants as "Frankensteins."
* In the ''VideoGame/WingCommander'' franchise, expect the humans to call the [[MegaNeko Kilrathi]] some variation of Cats or Furballs, while the Kilrathi call the humans "Hairless Apes".
* In video games featuring a war between the United States and [[MakeTheBearAngryAgain a resurgent Russia]], the American soldiers will sometimes use the hypothetical ColdWar-era nickname "Ivan" to refer to their enemies.
* In ''{{Killzone}}'' the ISA refer to the Helghans as Higs.
* ''StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' the Republic forces sometimes call the Sith Empire troops "Imps". Imperials, in turn, refer to their rivals as "Pubs".
* ''[[VideoGame/{{X-COM Enemy Unknown 2012}} XCOM: Enemy Unknown]]'' Aliens are called either ET or X-Ray
* In the ''Left4Dead'' comic the army call the infected as Whiskey Deltas(walking dead).

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[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/ExoSquad'', the Terrans use either "Neos" or "Sapes" for [[ArtificialHuman Neosapiens]]. The first one is PC, the second is a FantasticSlur, as Marsh points out once.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': the Clone would often call droids as klankers.

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[[folder: Historical/Real Life ]]

* In WorldWarOne, the Germans were often called "Huns" by the Allies and "Fritz" by Russians.
** To some degree in WorldWarII as well, especially by British. The "Fritz" nickname was even more common during the [[WorldWarII Great Patriotic War]] than during the [[WorldWarI Imperialistic War]].
* Works made in (or to a lesser extent made later but set in) WorldWarTwo refer to Japanese as "Japs" or "Nips" (short for Nipponese), and Germans "Krauts," though some WorldWarOne vets may still call them the "Huns;" "Jerry" was another popular term. Calling Italians "Wops" also crops up whenever writers remember the Italians were even in the war. Even officially issued documents like "Know Your PT Boat" (US Navy Bureau of Ships Technical Publication No. 9) did this.
* The Germans had their own nicknames for the Allies: Tommy (British), Amis (Anglo-American), and Ivan (Russian).
* During [[RedOctober the Russian Civil War]] it was "redbelly" (''krasnopuzy'') by the White for the Red, and "whitehoof" (''belokopytny'') the other way round.
* Works set in the VietnamWar will contain references to "Charlie" (from the radio callsign for Vietcong, Victor Charlie) in more or less official communiques and to 'gooks' or 'gomers' in the American troops' slang.
* In the current wars in the middle east, insurgents are referred to as haji's or ragheads by US Army forces, though this is being frowned upon more and more in garrison (at home).
* During the Afghan War in the USSR, and the Chechen War in TheNewRussia, ''dukh'' ("spirit") or "shaytan" (Islamic devil) was used as the Russian equivalent for "haji" or "raghead".
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