Salty Language: U.S. Navy Slang Quiz

Answer: An engineer

Engineering ratings (Machinist's Mates, Boiler Tech's, Electrician's Mates, etc.) are referred to as "snipes." Non-rated (i.e., E-3 and below) personnel who work in engineering are known as firemen, not seamen. They can be distinguished by the fact that they wear red stripes on their uniforms, whereas seamen wear white stripes.

Answer: A destroyer

Destroyers and other small combat ships are known as tin cans, presumably because their armor was as thin as the metal on a tin can. I served on one, and believe me, it is not the duty you want if you get seasick! In many ways, life on a tin can is exemplary of the very worst the Navy has to offer.

Answer: A Yeoman

Most naval ratings have nicknames; Yeomen perform clerical and secretarial duties, both onboard ships and ashore. As most people know, Waves are female sailors. Yeoman was one of the few ratings open to women, hence the rather disparaging appellation given to male Yeomen. Nowadays, of course, all ratings are open to women, a fact upon which I shall refrain from commenting.

Answer: Kool-Aid

Not real Kool-Aid, but a Kool-Aid type beverage ubiquitous on Navy ships. I found it vile. It is usually orange or red in color and is made from some unknown chemical compound. The differences in color are purely cosmetic; it all tastes the same. Med cruise is short for Mediterranean cruise. A Western Pacific deployment is called a West Pac.

Answer: A submariner

Submariners are referred to by personnel on surface ships as bubbleheads (among other things). There are no female bubbleheads - yet. The term "bubblehead" was also once used to describe Navy divers.

Answer: He has been promoted

When one is promoted to the paygrade of E-4, one becomes a "petty officer." Petty officers wear a badge denoting their rank on their left arm. It consists of an eagle (or crow) on top, with one or more inverted chevrons below it, denoting one's rank. On dress uniforms, there is a symbol embroidered between the eagle and the chevrons that denotes one's specialty, or rating (for Electrician Mates' it is a globe, which looks exactly like a basketball; for Botswain's Mates, two crossed anchors, etc.) All of one's shipmates of equal or higher rank celebrate your promotion by hitting you, as hard as they can, on your rating badge.

This is called "tacking on the crow." This is a lot of fun for the tackers, not so much fun for the tackee. When I was promoted to Electrician's Mate First Class, my left arm was a solid bruise from elbow to shoulder.

Answer: A Marine

Perhaps best known from a phrase in one of Sir Walter Scott's novels: "Tell it to the Marines; the sailors will never believe it." Marines are also known as grunts, gyrenes, and (a personal favorite) "sea-going bellhops," the latter an allusion to their dress uniforms.

Answer: Candy

Geedunk is a generic term for any kind of sweet, but usually it implies candy. The National Defense Service Medal, which was given to everyone who served during specific periods of time, is sometimes called the "Geedunk Medal."

Answer: The ship was cruising at maximum speed

This term has nothing to do with the male anatomy. An early type of engine governor (speed control) consisted of two metal balls connected to a shaft. As speed increased, centrifugal force made the balls move outward. At maximum speed they would be horizontal, nearly touching the walls of the space that contained them.

Hence, when a ship is going "balls to the wall," she is cruising at high speed.

Answer: Chief Petty Officers

The "Goat Locker" is the berthing space for Chief Petty Officers onboard a Navy ship. It may get its name from the fact that CPO's are older than most of the crew (i.e., are "old goats"), but another explanation I've read says that goats were once carried onboard Navy ships to provide milk for the sick, and the CPO' were in charge of the goats!

Answer: Radioman

Radiomen are almost always called "Sparky" or "Sparks." Electrician's Mates are sometimes refered to by this same name. It comes, of course, from the early days of the Navy when radio equipment was likely to emit sparks.

Answer: Sharing a bunk with another sailor

Conditions on Navy ships are (or at least, used to be) pretty spartan. When there are more sailors than racks (bunks), it is a common practice to have to share a bed. It is arranged so that the two people sharing it have different watch schedules so both can get some sleep (at different times, they don't sleep in the same bed at the same time). Once when I was on a submarine, we brought on a bunch of civilian technicians for some reason or the other.

The enlisted personnel were, of course, evicted from their living space, and I spent several weeks sleeping on a 2 inch-thick mattress on the floor of the torpedo room, with a torpedo about an inch from my nose. And I had to share the mattress.

This practice is known as "hot-racking" because when you get into bed the mattress is still warm from the previous occupant.

Answer: Bend over, here it comes again

Sailors are quite adept at creating acronyms. One famous one states that Navy stands for "Never Again Volunteer Yourself."

Answer: The extreme aft part of the main deck

All parts of a ship have names, some of which are in common use, some known only to sailors. The fantail on a destroyer is a common place for ceremonies, musters, etc.

Answer: A sailor's white hat

Nothing identifies a sailor like the white, round hat he wears with his dress uniform (baseball cap type hats are sometimes worn with work uniforms). It should be sparkling white, slightly curled at the rim, and worn at a jaunty angle.

Answer: A loose thread

An Irish pennant is loose thread or piece of fabric, usually on one's uniform. The Navy is very down on Irish pennants. Some officers expect one to work all day in the engineering spaces and emerge from them ready for inspection! One of the drawbacks to being a snipe is that you have to spend a lot of money on work uniforms, as they are constantly being torn, stained, eaten through by battery acid, etc.

Answer: A former enlisted man

I have never found out the origin of this term. As a general rule, it was better to work for a mustang than someone who started his career as an officer. At least they usually knew what they were doing. On the other hand, they tended to be quite a bit more intelligent than other officers, so it was harder to put something over on them.

Answer: None, they are purely decorative

Med lights are lights that are strung from bow to stern, over the highest mast on a ship. They are used only in port. Stringing Med lights was one of the worst duties an Electrician's Mate could pull. It is hard work, because the cables are heavy, have to be spliced together, and all of the lights - hundreds of them - have to be kept lit.

They basically make the ship look pretty at night. Having nothing better to do, some commanding officers are gung-ho about Med lights. Once, on one of the ships I was assigned to, some scoundrel broke into the Med light locker, cut the plugs off all the Med lights, and threw them overboard. Our Captain was quite distraught, as he was a Med light enthusiast.

Answer: Officer of the Deck

While the Captain of a ship has absolute control of the vessel under his command, he can't be awake and in charge 24/7. When the Captain is not on duty, his functions are performed by the "Officer of the Deck." At sea, this is almost always a commissioned officer, but on smaller ships the function may be filled by an enlisted man while the ship is in port. I had to stand OOD watches on my destroyer, and hated it. For one thing, you had to wear your dress white uniform, and if anything could go wrong, it would invariably happen on your watch.

Answer: A club for first and second class petty officers

Many large bases have not only an enlisted men's (EM) club, and an officers' club, but clubs for specific ranks and ratings as well. Acey-Deucy clubs are for sailors in paygrade E-5 and E-6. The name comes from a game popular with sailors that resembles backgammon.