noun General Slang

Cattle Truck

/ˈkaetəl trʌk/ · noun · slang

GI slang for the cramped troop transport that hauled men packed in like livestock.

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Definitions

1

By extension, any overcrowded vehicle or transport.

“The commuter train was a cattle truck this morning.”
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2

A troop-carrying truck or transport in which soldiers were packed standing, shoulder to shoulder, like cattle.

“They crammed forty of us into the cattle truck for the ride to the front.”
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3

Used adjectivally for cramped, undignified mass transport.

“It was strictly cattle-truck conditions all the way there.”
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Cattle Truck In A Sentence

We swayed in the cattle truck for six hours without a stop.
The cattle truck dropped us off a mile short and we marched the rest.
Standing room only — the bus was a real cattle truck.

Origin & Usage

Military and homefront slang in heavy use through the 1940s, describing the cramped troop transports of WWII that hauled soldiers packed together like livestock. It broadened to mean any overcrowded vehicle.

Variants cattle wagoncattle car
Tags #1940s#wartime#swing#vintage#military#transport

People Also Ask

What does cattle truck mean as slang?

A cramped troop transport packing soldiers together like livestock — or by extension any overcrowded vehicle.

Where did the term come from?

From WWII-era military and homefront speech in the 1940s, describing how troops were hauled standing and packed tight.

Is it still used?

Yes — 'cattle truck' or 'cattle car' is still common for any unpleasantly crowded transport.

Is it related to Cockney rhyming slang?

In British slang 'cattle truck' also rhymes with a vulgarity, but the wartime transport sense is separate and literal.

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