Corby in San Diego, California, grew up hearing Navy fighter-pilot slang from her father. A pilot who bangs off the cat launches from an aircraft carrier by catapult, and the meatball is the amber light in the optical landing system that helps line...
A caller wonders about the origin of gedunk or geedunk, which means “ice cream” or “a snack bar” where you might buy sweets. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Where Did the Navy Term “Gedunk” for a...
tiger cruise n.—Gloss: a trip aboard a military vessel in which sailors are accompanied by friends and family. «The aircraft carrier-like vessel arrived on Friday, picked up family members for what’s known as a “tiger cruise,”...
nugget n.— «The Greyhound, which looks as if it sprang from the womb of Howard Hughes’s Spruce Goose, is 50,000 pounds of flying metal that must set itself down on the pitching deck of a ship at 120 knots and come to a complete stop in...

