History Literature / McAuslan

** [=MacNeill=] himself becomes this to his platoon--so much so that he ''still'' finds himself looking out for the eternally-benighted [=McAuslan=], even after their demobilization.

* ChekhovsGun: The very fact that McAuslan [[spoiler:participated in the mounting of the guard at Edingburgh Castle gets turned into one during his court-martial; Captain Einstein uses this fact as key evidence in acquitting McAuslan, by arguing that McAuslan is so disciplined, fastidious, and trusted that he would naturally be selected to participate in a guard ceremony before royalty.]]

* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: McAuslan, mostly by accident. Wee Wullie, the battalion drunk.

* TheDeterminator: Wee Wullie, during a WWII incident. McAuslan to an extent.

* KnightFever: Pariodied, in reference to McAuslan.
--> Oh yes. Private McAuslan, N.B.G., Y.M.C.A. and Bar....
* {{Malaproper}}: McAuslan is prone to these, especially when trying to describe the constellations.

** But also played for comedy, as when the ceremonial guard at Edinburgh Castle has to choose between a soldier who has just been drenched with paint and a soldier whose name is McAuslan.

** Averted by McAuslan, despite the well-meaning efforts of a brigadier who informs him there is [[UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte a baton in his knapsack]]. Events conspire to make him a lance-corporal once, though both the misguided brigadier and the mischievous Captain Errol, during which time he proves to be quite a martinet.

* WrongInsultOffence: In ''[=McAuslan=] In The Rough'' one of the pipe-sergeants is recalling a heroic predecessor; Piper Findlater, who earned a VC on the Afghan border when he stuck to his task under fire and wounded because, he said, he didn't want his regiment to be beaten by a pack of "beastly niggers". One of the listeners (quite enlightened for 1950s UK) complains that Findlater should not have said that, and the sergeant telling the story remarks "Nor he shouldn't, and you're right for once. They wass not niggers; they wass wogs".[[hottip:*:Even in racist Britain, "nigger" would be specific to dark-skinned ''Africans''; "wogs" was applicable to brown-skinned foreigners of Arabic hue or darker.]]

** Also his [=MacDonald=] grandmother, who is of a stern Presbyterian disposition.

* PricelessPaperweight: Inverted with a treasure trove of paper bills - that are no longer legal tender now that the war's over and Mussolini's finance ministry no longer exists to validate them.
** Played straight with the table service of the officer's mess, which is made up of priceless booty collected by the regiment over three centuries. The below-mentioned RebelLeader donates a combat knife that becomes the battalion's cheese slicer.

* SeriousBusiness: Regimental history and lore. One recent transfer from the Highland Light Infantry questions the veracity of the Stirrup Charge, provoking a fistfight with McAuslan, who gets busted down from lance-corporal for his trouble (and, as [=MacNeill=] thinks to himself, not a moment too soon, since [=McAuslan=]'s "leadership" was bound to create further friction between him and the rest of the men).

** Averted by McAuslan, despite the well-meaning efforts of a brigadier who informs him there is [[UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte a baton in his knapsack]].

** When [=MacNeill=] goes home on leave and visits Lt. [=MacKenzie=]'s father, he responds to a question about [=MacKenzie=]'s performance by saying "his Jocks (i.e. his troops) like him." [=MacNeill=] has to backpedal slightly when the elder [=MacKenzie=] (who is a veteran but not of a Highland regiment) doesn't understand that this is the highest compliment [=MacNeill=] can think of.

** Creator/TerryPratchett's invention of the boisterous, pugnacious and unruly [=NacMacFeegle=] can be directly traced to this representation of the Gordon Highlanders. Pratchett cites [=MacDonald=] Fraser as a favourite author and an inspiration; and individual Feegle such as Daft Wullie and Rob Anybody can be mapped to characters here like Daft Bob and Wee Wullie.

* MyGirlBackHome: The various families of the men (and of [=MacNeill=] himself). [=MacNeill=] ends up going on a tour of his men's various families and friends when he's on leave in England.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: [[invoked]] Referenced throughout the series. Many stories mention the battalion band and its pipe-sergeant. One story focuses on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Findlater Piper George Findlater]], who won a Victoria Cross in Afghanistan for playing the pipes while injured. Another story is about a Highland dance so rousing that it draws in Englishmen and Arabs. And dozens of classic tunes are name-dropped, particularly ''Johnnie Cope'' which is used to wake the junior officers on Friday mornings -- from approximately two feet away.

* PlayingCyrano: The rest of the squad, for [[spoiler:[=McAuslan=]]].

* AmoralAttorney: Captain Einstein presents a conniving image; [=MacNeill=] claims that he'd rather have notorious pirate Blackbeard Teach defending him in court than him. Einstein skillfully gets McAuslan acquitted of his charge of disobedience, though he bent the truth significantly to do so by presenting McAuslan as being a fastidious and upstanding soldier rather than a clumsy pigpen.

* CourtroomAntic: ''[=McAuslan's Court-Martial=]''. You know you're in for quite a show when the judge proves himself more interested in learning choice Scottish epithets than in conducting the trial proper.

* UltimateJobSecurity: Wee Wullie has it. He has a list of offenses longer than his immense arm, but the Colonel will shift heaven and earth to keep him with the battalion. The Adjutant reveals that this is due to Wullie performing an astonishing forced march through the desert during the African campaign.

--> General MacCrimmon had a fine agility at the pas-de-bas, and a decent sense of the time. Och, aye, he wass not bad, not bad... for a Campbell.[[note]]The Argylls recruited from historic Clan Campbell territory.[[/note]]

** One particular rivalry of note is the one between [=MacNeill's=] own regiment and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.[[note]]Which is also a huge hint as to the identity of [=MacNeill's=] regiment.[[/note]] The pipe-sergeant, for instance, grudgingly admits after the inspecting general officer, General [=MacCrimmon=] (who had previously served in he Argylls), successfully organizes a 128-man Highland Reel:

** Also his [=MacDonald=] grandmother.