Yankee Doodle
/ˌjæŋki ˈduːdl/
/ˌjæŋki ˈduːdl/
- a popular 18th-century marching song which has become almost a national song in the US. It was first sung by British soldiers to make fun of Americans during the American Revolution, but then became popular with George Washington's soldiers. 'Yankee' probably comes from 'Janke', the Dutch for 'Johnny' and a common name in early New York. 'Doodle' is an old-fashioned English word meaning a stupid person. The song begins: “Yankee Doodle came to town,Riding on a pony;He stuck a feather in his capAnd called it macaroni.”
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Yankee Doodle