WWII troop slang for military bureaucratic bullshit. The word implies that the regulations in question are so silly and trifling that they don't measure up to the level of bullshit. Subsequently, the word came to be merely an intensification of the epithet chicken.
In life and death matters, soldiers relied on their common sense and ignored the chickenshit regulations their superiors foisted upon them whenever possible.
by My dixie wrecked November 26, 2003