︎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,” and left on Saturday for home.» —“Retrofitted sub ready, but SEAL mini may not be” by William Cole Honolulu Advertiser (Hawaii) Nov. 12, 2007. (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...
