Home Guard
Home Guard
Pronunciation
[ˈhoʊm ˌɡɑːrd]
Home: /hoʊm/
/h/ - voiceless glottal fricative
/oʊ/ - diphthong (starts with a back-mid-rounded vowel, ends with a high-back-rounded vowel)
/m/ - voiced bilabial nasal
Guard: /ɡɑːrd/
/ɡ/ - voiced velar stop
/ɑːr/ - r-colored vowel (long open-back-unrounded vowel followed by a rhotic approximant)
/d/ - voiced alveolar stop
Word Form Variations
Singular Noun: Home Guard
Plural Noun: Home Guards
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
Definition 1: A civilian militia or volunteer force, especially one organized for local defense during a time of war or national emergency. Often a secondary or supplementary force to the regular army, composed of citizens who are typically unable to serve in the front lines due to age, physical condition, or essential civilian roles.
Synonyms: militia, local defense force, citizens' army, reserve force, volunteer corps
Antonyms: regular army, front-line troops, standing army, professional military
Definition 2: (Historical) A specific organization, particularly the British Home Guard, which was a civilian defense organization during World War II.
Synonyms: (specific to the British organization) Dad's Army, Local Defence Volunteers (LDV)
Antonyms: (none applicable, as this refers to a specific entity)
Examples of Use
Books:
In the book The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, the term is used in the context of a local militia: "A lot of people think the Home Guard is just a bunch of old men playing soldier, but they're the ones who will protect us if things get ugly."
The novel The Home Guard by George G. A. Scott is a fictional account centered on a unit of the British Home Guard during World War II.
Newspapers:
"The government has announced plans to form a new Home Guard to assist in flood defense and disaster relief efforts, drawing on volunteers from local communities," reported a regional newspaper in a June 2024 article.
Online Publications:
An article on a military history website detailed the formation of the British Home Guard in 1940, noting that it was initially known as the Local Defence Volunteers (The National WWII Museum, April 2020).
A blog post on a local community website discussed the historical significance of the Home Guard in their town, highlighting a memorial dedicated to the volunteers who served.
Entertainment Mediums:
Film: The 2016 film Dad's Army is a comedy based on the popular television series of the same name, which follows the misadventures of a Home Guard platoon during World War II.
Television: The British television sitcom Dad's Army, which originally aired from 1968 to 1977, remains a classic example of the term's use in popular culture.
General Public Discourse:
"My grandfather was in the Home Guard during the war; he always told us stories about their drills and their makeshift weapons," someone might say in a conversation about family history.
During a discussion about national security, a commentator might suggest, "Maybe we need a modern-day Home Guard to handle local emergencies, freeing up the police and military for more serious threats."
10 Famous Quotes Using Home Guard
"The Home Guard is the product of two forces. One of them is the force of events, and the other, which usually rises superior to the force of events, is the force of British character and tradition." (UK Parliament, Hansard, 1940)
"The Home Guard could only exist in a country where men feel themselves free." (George Orwell, Don't Let Colonel Blimp Ruin the Home Guard, 1941)
"I have no doubt that every member of the Home Guard knows that he is not a soldier but a citizen who is prepared to die for his country and his home." (Winston Churchill, 1941)
"You are members of the Home Guard, not the ‘Home Guarders'." (Original)
"I got into the habit of it in 1940, but then we ALL backed Britain... News was desperate, but our spirits were always high." (from a Dad's Army episode)
"We have more than a million and a half men of the Home Guard, who are just as much soldiers of the Regular Army as the Grenadier Guards, and who are determined to fight for every inch of the ground in every village and in every street." (Winston Churchill, 1940)
"In the Home Guard, we're all the same, from the doctor to the dustman." (Original)
"My father was in the Home Guard, and he always said they were the last line of defense." (Original)
"The Home Guard... had a free and easy, home-spun, moorland or village-green, workshop or pithead character of its own. That character is essential to its strength and happiness, and it must be preserved." (UK Parliament, Hansard, 1940)
"The Home Guard was a bonus; they were expendable." (Gubbins, quoted in David Pryce-Jones's Britain's Secret Resistance Movement)
Etymology
The word "Home Guard" is a compound term, meaning it's formed by combining two separate words: "home" and "guard."
Home: This word has been a part of the English language for a very long time, tracing back to the Old English word hām, which meant "dwelling, house, residence." It carries the meaning of a place of residence, family, and a sense of belonging.
Guard: This word comes from Old French garde, which means "to watch over, protect." This, in turn, has roots in Germanic languages. The core idea is to protect or defend against danger.
So, when you put them together, "Home Guard" literally means "a guard for the home." The term's first widespread, and now most famous, use was to describe a specific organization. The British Home Guard was a civilian defense force created in 1940 during World War II to protect the United Kingdom from a potential German invasion. Initially, it was called the "Local Defence Volunteers," but it was quickly renamed the "Home Guard" because the new name more clearly and directly communicated its purpose: to guard the home country.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Home Guard
"The last line of the Home Guard." This phrase refers to a final, desperate defense.
"To be a regular Home Guard." This is a humorous or slightly derogatory way to describe someone who is a bit overzealous in their protective or defensive duties, perhaps without a real threat present.
"A Home Guard mentality." This idiom describes a mindset of being fiercely protective of one's local area or group, sometimes to the point of being isolationist or distrustful of outsiders.
"To call in the Home Guard." This phrase means to enlist the help of a group of people who are not professional or formally trained, but who are dedicated to a specific local cause or task.
"Just a bunch of Home Guard." Used to dismiss a group as being amateur, unprofessional, or not a serious threat.
"To form a neighborhood watch, a modern-day Home Guard." This is a comparison used to explain the purpose of a community group that looks out for local safety.
"The company's social media team acts as its Home Guard, defending the brand from online attacks." This is a metaphorical use of the term, applying it to a non-military context.
"He's the Home Guard of the family, always looking out for his siblings." This idiom describes a person who is the primary protector of their family.
"The local team was the Home Guard for the playoffs, defending their home court fiercely." This is a sports analogy, using the term to describe a team's strong defense on their home turf.
"It was a Home Guard effort." This phrase implies a defense or an effort that was grassroots, resourceful, and done with a strong sense of local pride.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of Home Guard from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
