why are wooden toy soldiers called nutcrackers?? i dont get it. i know someone with an enormous collection

Depends upon the type of wooden toy soldiers. The ones popularized in Christmas lore because of the Nutcracker Suite & ballet that has become part of the holiday tradition were modeled after nutcrackers that looked like toy soldiers, and which dancer costumers could easily mimick.

I actually learned this yesterday after seeing one. I believe they were actually used to crack nuts at one point and evolved from German folklore

Actually, not all nutcrackers are soldiers and not all wooden soldiers are wooden or nutcrackers.

Because they are actual nut crakers