What is Dogsbody?
1.
dogsbody n. (pl. -ies) Brit.
1 n. a servile worker, esp. at menial tasks; a hack.
v.intr. (often foll. by at) work slavishly (at menial, hard, or dull work).
2 Naut. slang a junior officer.
"Dogsbody" was the radio call sign for a famous WWII British fighter pilot during the battle of Britain. Like you it was derived from his initials: D.B.- Douglas Bader. As a Wing Commander he had his initials painted on his plane and given his own call sign.
What made him famous besides being a brilliant leader, shooting down 22 German planes, and escaping from prison camp twice, was he did this all on two artificial legs, having lost both in a plane crash years before the war. All in all quite a man to share a nickname with.
2.
Brave, but ‘without regard for danger’ rather than ‘in the face of danger’. A 'dogsbody' will appear brave, but in reality they simply have no concept of danger. This can happen either because they are more interested in excitement than the consequences of their quest for pleasure, or simply as a side effect of insanity. Derived from the Radio Call Sign of Douglas Bader (Dogsbody) a WWII pilot and hero who appeared indifferent to danger.
That lunatic on rocket powered skates is a real Dogsbody
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