Son of a Gun

Remember I said this is a family site!

Seriously this is another Navy phrase that dates back to the age of sail.
In British naval slang this term refers to a child of questionable parentage conceived on the gun deck, hence 'son of a gun'. However, children born on board British naval vessels to enlisted men were referred to as a 'true son of a gun'.

Admiral William Henry Smyth wrote in his 1867 book, the Sailor's Word-book:

Son of a gun, an epithet conveying contempt in a slight degree, and originally applied to boys born afloat, when women were permitted to accompany their husbands to sea; one admiral declared he literally was thus cradled, under the breast of a gun-carriage.

When a Royal Navy vessel entered a port it was common for local prostitutes to visit the ship and elicit custom from the sailors. The sailors and prostitutes then had sexual relations, usually on one of the gun decks beside the many guns carried. This was one of the few places “Sally” and “Sailor” could obtain some sort of privacy. Should the prostitute subsequently fall pregnant by the sailor, she would then attempt to obtain compensation from the father or the navy for the upkeep of the child.

This was usually not forthcoming and the father's name would be withheld. When it was fairly certain that the child had been conceived upon board one of His Majesty's vessels, the infant would be entered into the ship's records as 'child born to gun number X', the X denoting the gun position the sailor responsible for the errant behavior was allocated-to, his name being omitted to maintain probity. These children born in this manner had no father's name on any official records and the male ones were referred to by knowing sailors as being 'sons of guns', a term denoting illegitimacy and contempt.

This custom was also carried over the US Navy and even into the US Army. The term has since gone out of favor over the years. The more common term we all know has replaced son of a gun. I am pretty sure we can all think of ways to use this, so I will skip that part of the lesson.

Jim (Ed.)