half-colonel en · NOUN
Meanings
-
(UK, colloquial) lieutenant colonel
'Yep. Lieutenant one day; major by the end of the week: lieutenant-colonel the week after. That's what it's like.' He snuffed down his nose in self-contempt. 'The office in Cairo is full of bogus half-colonels like me.'
1965, Olivia Manning, Friends and Heroes (The Balkan Trilogy; 3), Bath: Chivers, page 895 (in series):
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| half-colonels | Number=Plur | lexicographic |