Official - Unofficial Naval Terms,
Expressions And Past
Rememberances
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TERM
MEANING
Greyhound bus
Cardboard suitcase with plastic handle
Mystery Meat
Meat selection heavily coated with breadcrumbs, batter and gravy
Horse C__k
Famous Navy luncheon meat selections
"Make A Hole"
"Coming through"
3 For 5
"I'll lend you $3, you pay me back $5"
Snake Ranch
Apartment or house on the beach rented by a group of "bachelors"
Krystal Ball
10 Dime hamburgers and a bowl of chili at the Krystal before heading back - This place was also legal
Ropeyarn Sunday
Day off (to sew and mend clothing) - In todays Navy, a day used a day to take care of personal business
Holiday Routine
Just a plain day off
Scuttlebut
Drinking water fountain or a rumor
Mid Rats
Midnight rations (usually leftovers)
Where it all started for the "Chosen"- Naval Training Center - Great Lakes, IL
More links on this page Electric Railway connecting liberty parties from Great Lakes to Chicago, Waukegan or Milwaukee - Stained glass windows and velvet cushioned seats - A Class Ride
Irish Pennants
Loose threads or frayed clothing ends
New York, Black Cat Or California Bar
Found in every major world naval port
Mobile food vendor vehicle - Navy Exchange Mobile Canteen
Gedunk
Soda fountain
Cumshaw
Naval Trade - Keeps the Fleet running
Famous Norfolk, Virginia naval tailors -
Clothes Stops
Used to tie up wet clothing in NTC drying rooms - A small diameter cord approx. 12" long - the Navy clothespin - Navy issue until 1973
Sea Lawyer
A shipmate who likes to argue, especially against authority
BCD
A Bad Conduct Discharge also known as the Big Chicken Dinner
Padre
Chaplain
Navy Iron
Sleeping on dress blues under mattress to keep them pressed.
The Strip
Mass of stores, BARS, naval tailors, automobile lots, BARS, pawn shops, dry cleaners, BARS, tattoo parlors, civilian clothing stores (with someone at the entrance, chumming in the customers), BARS, locker clubs, pool halls, BARS, etc. all located in a convenient location outside of the main gate
Bell's - Krazy Kat - Lovey's - Victory
Famous Bars - Located outside Gate 2; Main Gate - Hampton Blvd.; Granby Street - NOB Norfolk
Pig Palace
A bar populated with ugly women and watered down booze, etc.
Pig Stick
A small staff from which the commission pennant is flown - Not for use in the Pig Palace or to fend off the Pig Of The Port
Pig of the Port
The least attractive member of the opposite sex brought aboard during a port visit. Awards and honors are often granted, though seldom sought after...Award was totally honorary...
Sand Crabs
Naval Shipyard Workers
Steaming
Blowing Off Steam On Liberty - One Who Blows Off Steam Is A Steamer
Fox Tail
Used In Conjunction With A Dust Pan
Jury Rig
Work-around solution
Short Arm Inspection
Last Major Inspection Before Departing NTC--Applicable To Male Members Only
Shot Card
Tabular Listing Of Received Inoculations
Short-Timer's Chain
A length of chain carried by a short-timer, where the number of links equals the number of days remaining before discharge. Each day, the short-timer cuts off another link.....
Liberty card
Bug Juice
Navy equivalent of Cool Aid
Dog Wrench
Short length of pipe mounted on dogs to ease in the dogging of a hatch
Where to go - What to do
Field Day
Not a sporting event! - But a major cleaning evolution - (Alkali soap, BRASSO, swabs and buffers come to mind)
Grinder
A dreaded piece of asphalt
Dead Horse
When a Sailor pays off a debt to the command (advance pay, overpayments, etc...) they say they've paid off a Dead Horse.
Calling "Charlie O'Roark"
Pukeing - Usually accomplished in the proximity of the Great White Goddess. May result from seasickness or from having maximized a recreational opportunity ashore, or a combination of the two.
Service Week And Mess Cooking
Temporary galley duty in boot camp - Temporary galley duty onboard ship
Ships Clown
Self explanatory....Will occasionly report to the quartdeck when summoned
Sundowner Liberty - Cinderella Liberty
Gotta be back by sundown - Gotta be back by midnight
Gas operated portable water pump
Channel Fever
Anxiety about returning to port
Usually viewed at the bottom of a bucket - closer inspection of the creature usually is followed by a kick or a swat with a broom in the butt in order to get a better view - The link (left) shows the full-grown sea going version as last seen in 1930.
Smoker
Amateur boxing matches on the fantail
"Gun Decking" Or "Radioing It In"
The time honored tradition of fabricating elements of a report so that it is complete, and looks good, a kind of white lie!
"Official" Navy Shower Procedure
Shower on , wet body, shower off. Soap down. Shower on, rinse, shower off.
Acey Ducey
A board game similar to baccarat. The game boards are usually stenciled into the mess deck tables
Fart Sack
The mattress cover that resembled a white sack with ties on the end
SOS
Save Our Ship - Sink Or Swim - Shit On a Shingle (ground beef with white gravy on toast)
American Chop Suey
A pasta, tomato sauce and ground beef mix served on Fridays when the "Mackerel Snappers" (those whose religious beliefs made it necessary to eat fish on Friday's) had their meal
An Actual "Sea Bat" Video
How To Start A Story
Start every story with the preamble
"This is no-shit."
Mail Buoy Watch
A practical joke pulled on inexperienced crewmembers and midshipmen which revolves around convincing the victim that mail is delivered to a ship at sea via a buoy
Piss n'Punk
Usual dietary (bread and water) supplement once served at the "brig" - 15 days Piss n'Punk
Lucky bag
A compartment maintained by the Chief Master At Arms, where gear adrift is stored. Personnel can retrieve gear adrift items by working off EMI (Extra Military Instruction). If after a period of time the items are not claimed, they are sold, with the resulting funds going to the Rec. Fund.
Steel Beach
Cookout on the fantail
Slush Fund
An "illegal" money reserve - Also known as King Neptune's Savings Bank (see "3 for 5" above)
CONUS
The good 'ol US of A - The continental 48 states
Ditty Bag
A carrier for personal items - soap, pen and paper, toiletries, sewing kit, etc.
Pogey Bait
Candy or junk food
Coffee Mess
An area in a workspace where coffee is made and served
Goat Rodeo
A chaotic situation, often one that involves several people, each with a different agenda/vision/perception of what's going on; a situation that is very difficult, despite energy and efforts, to instill any sense or order into the situation
BOHICA
A muffled cry usually made after an un-popular shipboard announcement -
"Bend Over, Here It Comes Again"Click On Additional Links Listed Below:
http://www.ussrankin.org/id430.htm
http://www.hazegray.org/faq/slang1.htm
http://www.hazegray.org/faq/slang2.htm
Click On These Outstanding Links Listed Below:Bob "Dex" Armstrong - Navy Recollections And Sea Stories
Click On Additional Link Below To Revisit Norfolk, VA:Ocean View (Norfolk) Nickle Tour
Click On Additional Link Below To See some Uniform Facts:Naval Uniform Questions and Answers
