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What's the origin of the expression "son of a gun"? This comic explains a possible origin: British Navy used to allow women on naval ships, and any child born on board who had uncertain paternity ...
Question
etymology
#3: Post edited
by
hkotsubo
·
2020-11-19T16:20:49Z (almost 4 years ago)
According to [Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/son%20of%20a%20gun), [Cambridge](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/son-of-a-gun) and [Collins](https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/son-of-a-gun) dictionaries, the expression "son of a gun" is an euphemism for "son of a b*tch".[This comic](https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/sob) explains a possible origin: British Navy used to allow women on naval ships, and any child born on board who had uncertain paternity would be called "son of a gun" (because "gun" would be a slang for "a military guy").- But [Wiktionary says](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/son_of_a_gun#Etymology) that "*Folk etymologies suggesting nautical origins are not supported by evidence*".
Considering those 2 contraditory sources, which one is correct?Is the kid-born-on-a-ship history true? In case it's not, what would be the origin of this expression?
- What's the origin of the expression "*son of a gun*"?
- [This comic](https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/sob) explains a possible origin: British Navy used to allow women on naval ships, and any child born on board who had uncertain paternity would be called "son of a gun" (because "gun" would be a slang for "a military guy"). This is supported by other sources, such as [this](https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/son-of-a-gun.html) and [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_of_a_gun).
- But [Wiktionary says](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/son_of_a_gun#Etymology) that "*Folk etymologies suggesting nautical origins are not supported by evidence*".
- Considering those contraditory sources, which one is correct?
- Is the kid-born-on-a-ship history true? In case it's not, what would be the origin of this expression?
- ---
- <sup>According to [Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/son%20of%20a%20gun), [Cambridge](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/son-of-a-gun) and [Collins](https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/son-of-a-gun) dictionaries, "son of a gun" is an euphemism for "son of a b*tch", but I'm not interested in how the expression became an euphemism, only in its origin, regardless of the meaning it has today.</sup>
#2: Post edited
by
hkotsubo
·
2020-11-19T10:05:00Z (almost 4 years ago)
adding sources
The expression "son of a gun" is an euphemism for "son of a b*tch".[This comic](https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/sob) explains that British Navy used to allow women on naval ships, and any child born on board who had uncertain paternity would be called "son of a gun" (because "gun" would be a slang for "a military guy").- But [Wiktionary says](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/son_of_a_gun#Etymology) that "*Folk etymologies suggesting nautical origins are not supported by evidence*".
- Considering those 2 contraditory sources, which one is correct?
- Is the kid-born-on-a-ship history true? In case it's not, what would be the origin of this expression?
- According to [Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/son%20of%20a%20gun), [Cambridge](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/son-of-a-gun) and [Collins](https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/son-of-a-gun) dictionaries, the expression "son of a gun" is an euphemism for "son of a b*tch".
- [This comic](https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/sob) explains a possible origin: British Navy used to allow women on naval ships, and any child born on board who had uncertain paternity would be called "son of a gun" (because "gun" would be a slang for "a military guy").
- But [Wiktionary says](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/son_of_a_gun#Etymology) that "*Folk etymologies suggesting nautical origins are not supported by evidence*".
- Considering those 2 contraditory sources, which one is correct?
- Is the kid-born-on-a-ship history true? In case it's not, what would be the origin of this expression?
#1: Initial revision
by
hkotsubo
·
2020-11-18T18:53:10Z (almost 4 years ago)
Etymology of "son of a gun"
The expression "son of a gun" is an euphemism for "son of a b*tch". [This comic](https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/sob) explains that British Navy used to allow women on naval ships, and any child born on board who had uncertain paternity would be called "son of a gun" (because "gun" would be a slang for "a military guy"). But [Wiktionary says](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/son_of_a_gun#Etymology) that "*Folk etymologies suggesting nautical origins are not supported by evidence*". Considering those 2 contraditory sources, which one is correct? Is the kid-born-on-a-ship history true? In case it's not, what would be the origin of this expression?