Why did Paul Revere call the British soldiers "the Regulars"?

Answer 1

I may be wrong on this, but I think it's because they were professional soldiers, and not volunteers or conscripted draftees. It was their "regular" job.
Or am I just stupid?

Answer 2

In the 1770s Boston was part of Massachusetts Colony, ruled by the King of England. There were military groups in the colony made up of the local people, called "militias". Some local farmers had formed amateur groups who had agreed to be able gather into fighting units "on a minute's notice" - they were the "Minutemen".

In the last few years before Paul Revere did his ride there had been a lot of unrest in Boston and the surrounding countryside, so the Brits sent units of the Regular British Army from England to be stationed in Boston. These units were the "regulars" - they had been trained to fight in a very disciplined way, European style. They were also called "redcoats" or "lobsterbacks" because they wore red uniform coats. Many of the local militias had no uniforms and were fairly undisciplined, but they were mostly good shots from hunting all their lives, and they had learned from the Indians how to fight from behind trees and stone walls instead of standing in the middle of a field and just shooting back and forth until one side gave up or was dead! The Americans had a tough time standing up to the Regulars in a pitched battle, but they kicked the Brits butts severely in the kind of running battle that occured the day after Paul Revere's ride.
As far as the Regulars being "better" soldiers, well, they were disciplined - mainly because the punishment for not doing exactly as they were told all the time every time, was flogging (whipping) usually until you were dead. But their officers didnt think much of them - the Duke of Wellington who was in command of the British Army that defeated Napolean in 1815 called his soldiers "the scum of the Earth, enlisted for drink."

Answer 3

soldiers are either enlisted by law or volunteers. These are known as conscripted troops or Regulars. As most conscripts are reluctant soldiers Regulars make better soldiers