A cumshaw artist is that clever, resourceful person in a military unit who always seems to manage to procure whatever’s needed. This term apparently derives from similar-sounding words in Mandarin, kan hsieh, or kam-si?, in the language spoken...
Tom in Indianapolis, Indiana, remembers hearing Irish pennant in the Marine Corps for a loose thread hanging from a uniform. The term belongs to the category of ethnophaulism, or ethnic slur, alongside expressions such as Irish screwdriver for...
duty watch bar n.— «For members of the British Royal Navy on the two warships at the pier, it became something more than just a bar last week. “It’s the ’duty watch bar,’ ” Mark Smith, 41, a petty officer sitting in Montero’s on Sunday, said with a...
floggle toggle n.— «I’ve been listening to The Navy Lark recently and noticed the writer occasional threw in some obscure but genuine naval slang for comic effect. One I’m a bit puzzled about is “floggle toggle.” It appears to be used as a...