Somewhere along the line today we got in a discussion on Naval ceremonies in general and crossing lines in particular. Myself being a trusty Shellback could expound on what happens when you cross the zero line of longitude, but came up empty on what happens as you cross 00 or 180 latitude.
A quick search of the net came up with Golden Dragon which is described as a sailor who has crossed the Prime Meridian or the International Date Line into the Eastern Hemisphere. If you happen to cross the International Dateline and the Equator at the same time you become a Golden Shellback. As you can see from my card I missed that honor by quite a bit.
Besides Shellback & Golden Dragon, you are a Blue Nose for crossing the Arctic Circle, a Frozen Stiff for crossing the Antarctic Circle and a Mossback for sailing around Cape Horn.
In the search I found a few places that listed Naval jargon or slang and was transported 30 years into the past. Here are a couple of my favorites (and are suitable for general audiences):
Bug Juice: Kool-Aid-like beverage in dispensers on the messdeck.
Hollywood Shower: to take a long shower that wastes water.
Snipes: Sailors assigned to the Engineering rates, i.e. Machinists Mates, Boilermen, etc.
and Rent-A-Crow: Term for a sailor advanced to E-4 because they graduated top of their “A” school class. The Navy ‘rents’ them for an extra year in return for being promoted. (I was one of these.)
There are plenty more HERE, HERE and HERE. Including a whole slew of the more “colorful” ones.
Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/08: 269
Good post. My nephew recently enlisted in the Navy. He’s on the USS Truman, an aircraft carrier. His dad (my brother) and brother (another nephew) recently met him in Jacksonville, Fl and road on the ship to Norfolk, Va. Wish I could have gone along…
Have him read up on all those slang links and everyone will believe he is an “old salt.”