Bravely Enduring Hardship? You're a "Trouper"

Not a trooper

I don’t want to be a grammar Nazi. I don’t want to be any kind of Nazi. But I do wish to examine some history of word origins and in the process perhaps improve the language. That’s rich coming from a guy who created the word cocktoboggan (to describe Nazis, by the way). Let’s begin with the greatest comic strip ever created.

I could spend hours going through my old Calvin and Hobbes books to find the proper strip, and that does sound appealing, but I’m already two-thirds of the way through my at-birth life-expectancy and time is at a premium, so I’ll have to go from memory. In one strip, Calvin does something that required some manner of physical and/or mental endurance. From what I recall, he eventually falls asleep, and as his father carries him to bed his mother says, “What a trouper.”

This is the correct usage. I expect no less from Bill Watterson.

The definition of trouper is “a persevering, dependable person who works hard or bravely endures adversity.” If they whinge like a Manchurian cantaloupe who just lost a presidential election, yet suck it up and do what must be done anyway, I’d argue it doesn’t fulfill the criteria of someone who “bravely endures.” Anyfuckingway, I’ve seen many who wish to compliment someone for enduring hardship without complaint as a “trooper.” I can see the connection, and there is one, but we must begin at the beginning.

“Trooper” is a military term, and it was first on the English scene, but not in reference to courageous perseverance. It derives from the Middle French troupe, which means “company,” although the French borrowed it from Germanic. This became “troop” in English in the sixteenth century to describe a group of soldiers. Anyone who has been in the military knows that rank and file soldiers are some of the whiniest motherfuckers on the planet. Griping is a big part of military life.

“Trouper,” conversely, is a more modern term. Nevertheless, it is the correct one for the purposes of praising one who perseveres in the face of adversity. It originated in the nineteenth century as one who is a member of an acting company, a troupe. In the twentieth century, trouper became associated with valiant resolve because actors embrace the belief that “the show must go on,” no matter what catastrophes may occur. Later, trooper also came to be associated with the need to persevere in the face of hardship, but trouper was first.

Yes, language evolves, and trooper shall suffice if that is the spelling you wish to use, especially if it refers to enduring in the face of violent confrontation. Yet I wish to make a case for going with the original spelling and meaning, beyond the fact that it is primary.

Fuck the military. That’s why.

I’m not one to glorify service or support the military-industrial complex. I’m not a pacifist and appreciate that there is sometimes a need to fight, but the militarization of societies and police forces is not a good thing. Elevating and ennobling of warrior classes has a long history, and has not been beneficial to our development as a species. Rather, it more often represents the institutionalization of the human tendency for the strong to take from the weak. I’ve been through some rough shit of late and have endured, yet I’d not wish to be associated with such toxicity by being referred to as a trooper.

But a trouper? Oh, yes. Acting troupes are about bringing joy and entertainment via their craft. Whether injured or sick or whatever other chaos ensues during a live performance, it is a point of pride of many actors to not let their fellow players down, and not disappoint the crowd that came to see a show.

As an author, I identify far more with the entertainment business. I consider it a more honorable profession, the dealing of dialogue rather than death.

In conclusion, there is a Canadian rock band named Trooper, but they never had anywhere near the popularity of ABBA, which had a hit song and album titled “Super Trouper.”

Get my book ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY SH!T WENT DOWN.