dirt Navy

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3 comments
  • This phrase has been around since I was active duty (1985-1989).  As a mineman during that time period, we were called “Dirt Sailors” because we did not go to sea.

  • Nice to find myself cited! Yup, “Dirt Navy” was the phrase we always used for the ratings that did not serve on ships. Blue water, brown water, dirt or sand, I think I got to try all of them at one time or another.

Further reading

Lead On, Macduff! (episode #1565)

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Dialect Detecting

Loretta in Shreveport, Louisiana, wants to know what lexical and dialectal clues linguists look for when guessing where someone is from. She also wonders: Do people with long careers in the military or who grew up in a military family have a...