sailor’s wife
n.— «Like honey and the bee, prostitutes are usually not far from seaports: It is not for nothing these women of easy virtue are also known as “Sailors’ wives.”» —“Still anchored at Apapa” by Maurice Archibong Daily Sun (Lagos, Nigeria) Aug. 24, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Mark in Bismarck, North Dakota, spent years as a sailor, and wonders about the term sea painter, meaning “a rope attached to a lifeboat.” Why painter? The word may derive from Middle French pendeur meaning “a kind of rope that...
The autocomplete function on your phone comes in handy, of course. But is it changing the way we write and how linguists study language? Also, suppose you could invite any two authors, living or dead, to dinner. Who’s on your guest list and...