SAILORSPEAK
A Glossary of Military Terminology, Jargon, and Slang
compiled and edited by
Jeff Crowell
Editorial Notes
- Copyright:
This glossary was created and has been maintained by Jeff
Crowell since 1990. Corrections, comments, or
suggestions for improvement will be welcomed. This information
may not be reproduced or otherwise displayed without the express
consent of the author. All rights reserved.
- Notes:
Unless otherwise noted, all terms are common to the USN, USMC,
USCG, USMS, or NOAA. The abbreviation RN denotes
Royal Navy usage. Similarly, RCN = Royal
Canadian Navy, RAN = Royal Australian Navy,
RM = Royal Marines, RNZN =
Royal New Zealand Navy, UK = general usage in
militaries of the former British Empire.
- Listing:
Terms in ALL-CAPS have a separate listing (same as
q.v.).
- Pronunciation:
A great deal of variation in pronunciation may be experienced
between services or between countries. For example, in the US
Navy and Marine Corps ASAP is spoken as a word:
eh' sap (eh = long a sound) while the US Army
and US Air Force essentially spell the word aloud, speaking each
letter: eh ess eh pee (again, eh is pronounced as the
long a sound).
- Appendixes:
The following appendixes supplement this glossary:
Apndx A: Aircraft Nicknames;
Apndx B: Dolphin Codes;
Apndx C: Falcon Codes;
Apndx D: Weights and Measures;
with these and other Editorial Notes.
- Special Note:
Since days of yore the military in general, and sailors in
particular, have often had a rather pithy (dare I say
tasteless?) manner of speech. That may be changing
somewhat in these politically correct times, but to Bowdlerize
the sailor's language represented here would be to deny its rich
history. The traditions and origins remain. While I have
attempted to present things with a bit of humor, if you are
easily offended, this glossary may not be for you. You
have been warned!
|