C rations

British  

plural noun

1. tinned food formerly issued in packs to US soldiers

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Etymology

Origin of C rations

C20: C(ombat) rations

Example Sentences

Wartime museums display the bland hardtack that sustained Civil War fighters, and the canned meats, breads and fruit of World War II, known as C rations.

From New York Times • Jun. 8, 2021

The feast, which some troops washed down with pungent Algerian wine liberated from the Cubans, even had a trickle-down effect for 100 local schoolchildren: they received C rations donated by U.S. soldiers.

From Time Magazine Archive

Marine flyers whose combat feats look unusually spectacular in Technicolor, the new movie differs from most of its predecessors no more than one can of C rations from another.

From Time Magazine Archive

Instead, Dr. McCall gave him some C rations.

From Time Magazine Archive

He supplemented his soup and rice with canned C rations he’d brought with him: familiar American food like beans and franks, even if he had to eat it cold from the can.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge