Son of a gun!

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gordonartist
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Joined: Wed Apr 05, 2006 11:55 pm

Son of a gun!

Post by gordonartist »

The New Yorker, 26 July 1941, p. 11.

THE TALK OF THE TOWN

The epithet "son of a gun" had its origin in the British Navy. In the old days, women euphemistically called "wives" stayed aboard naval vessels while they were in port. One of these women was expecting a little stranger, somewhat overdue, and the ship's surgeon asked the captain to fire a broadside by way of therapeutic shock.

The captain let go with his port battery, and the woman was immediately

delivered of a fine boy. "Son of a gun," now softened by long usage, was

originally pretty bad.

Gordon.
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