Séamus since then. Though still used by some as a derogatory term, the great preponderance of Irish and Irish-American law enforcement officers led to a persisting stereotype, and the name "Shamus" continues to refer to Irish-American police and private detectives. Séamus Variant spellings include ', ', ', ', "Shaymus", "Sheamus" and "Shamus". Diminutives include ', ' and "". In the United States, the word "Shamus" is a derogatory slang misspelling of Séamus that arose during the 19th century as more than 4.5 million Irish immigrated to America, peaking at almost two million between 1845 and 1852 during ""The Great Hunger"" (Irish:
Digger slang the Second World War. Some of the soldiers who had fought in the First World War perpetuated Digger slang into the second. These "retreads" were fit enough to return to action and continued the use of terms such as "bint", "backsheesh" for money, "shoofti" for a look around (borrowed via British slang from Arabic), and "guts" for news and information. Several slang words and phrases evolved. What in the First World War had been a "base bludger", someone who hangs around headquarters avoiding the fighting (from "bludger", a British slang name for a pimp, and generally adopted as the name