January 25, 2026

Firearms With Ridiculous Nicknames

Photo: The Thompson submachine gun, better known as the “Chicago Typewriter,” earned its nickname during the Prohibition era for its rapid-fire chatter and infamous role in both gangland crime and early American law enforcement.

Firearms have always picked up nicknames. Some come from soldiers. Some from the media. Others from gun owners who could not help themselves. Over time, a few of these names stuck so well that they became part of firearms history, even when the nickname was stranger than the gun itself.

Some nicknames sound intimidating. Others sound like they belong on a cartoon character. All of them say something about how people actually relate to these guns.

Here are a few of the most ridiculous, and memorable, firearm nicknames ever to catch on.

The "Chicago Typewriter"

The Thompson submachine gun earned its nickname during the Prohibition era, when it became a favorite of gangsters and law enforcement alike.

With its drum magazine and high rate of fire, reporters said it rattled like a typewriter hammering out a sentence. The name stuck, even though most Thompsons never saw Chicago and were later carried by American troops across Europe and the Pacific.

A weapon of war forever remembered by a newsroom metaphor.

The "Grease Gun"

Few military firearms sound less heroic than this one.

The M3 submachine gun earned its nickname because it resembled a mechanic's grease gun more than a traditional firearm. Stamped steel, simple construction, and no attempt at elegance.

Soldiers did not mean it as praise, but the name fit. The M3 was cheap, ugly, and effective. The nickname followed it from World War II through Korea and into Vietnam, proving that function often beats form, even when the name is unflattering.

The "Liberator"

This one sounds noble until you learn what it was.

The FP 45 Liberator was a crude, single shot pistol dropped behind enemy lines during World War II. Its purpose was not combat, but assassination. One shot, taken up close, meant to arm resistance fighters just long enough to take a better weapon.

Calling it the Liberator was optimistic at best. The name was propaganda, meant to inspire hope more than accuracy. Today, it stands as one of the strangest examples of a nickname trying to do too much heavy lifting.

Why Nicknames Stick

Ridiculous nicknames survive because they are easy to remember and hard to ignore. They strip away official designations and replace them with something human.

Model numbers fade. Stories last.

When people talk about firearms decades later, they rarely remember the designation. They remember the nickname, even when it sounds absurd.

In Closing

Firearms nicknames are rarely planned, rarely flattering, and often ridiculous. That is exactly why they work.

They tell us how people actually felt about the gun, not how it was supposed to be marketed or remembered.

Sometimes history is written by generals. Other times it is written by soldiers, reporters, and gun owners who thought a typewriter was the best comparison they could come up with.

Until next time, stay locked and loaded.
- Randy, Locked N Loaded

Please add randy@gophercentral.com to your address book or visit here.

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