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HelpRe: Big Bertha
in reply to a message by rem
The original Big Bertha (in German, dicke Bertha) was a siege gun used by the German army on the Western front - France, Belgium - in the First World War. It was extremely powerful, and typically used against the buildings in occupied towns; not an anti-personnel weapon at all.
It's fascinating, how powerful alliteration can be. I think it was originally nicknamed Bertha after the daughter of its manufacturer, possibly Krupp? But, put Big with Bertha and it became immortal. When we got married, we bought ourselves the two-volume Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary and immediately nicknamed it Big Bertha.
It's fascinating, how powerful alliteration can be. I think it was originally nicknamed Bertha after the daughter of its manufacturer, possibly Krupp? But, put Big with Bertha and it became immortal. When we got married, we bought ourselves the two-volume Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary and immediately nicknamed it Big Bertha.
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