Most professions have their own languages, and the U.S. Navy with its obscure terms and labored acronyms is certainly no exception. Those in and out of the naval profession will find this dictionary an essential tool in deciphering their unique language, which has its origins in the days of sail and continues to mutate in the ever-growing vocabulary of technology. For this completely revised and fully updated edition, Deborah Cutler and Thomas Cutler identify and clearly define a vast array of terms that can make documents and conversations with naval professionals so bewildering. Highly qualified 'NAVSPEAK linguists, the Cutlers have built upon the original works, culling, adding, and bringing the entries up to date for the twenty-first century. Official terms like Seapower 21 are included as well as such colorful, unofficial vocabulary as cannon cocker. Helpful notations of word origins for the very old and very new make definitions even clearer.

Almost 800 pages . 12,764 Definitions. The Most Complete Reference of Its Kind It's one thing to compile a dictionary of nautical terms from the Age of Sail; but it's quite another when the people doing the compiling actually lived them. That is exactly the situation in The Sailor's Word. William Henry Smyth (1788-1865) was in the Royal Navy for over 25 years, rising from a ship's boy on a West India merchantman to a Royal Navy Admiral. In addition to commanding several Royal Navy ships, he became world famous as a hydrographer (some of his charts were still in use in the 1960's), and as an astronomer (he eventually became president of the Royal Astronomical Society). The last years of his life, however, were spent compiling The Sailor's Word from his vast storehouse of nautical experience; but he died before he could see it published. His family decided to go forth with the publication of his final work. Their selection of an editor couldn't have been better: Sir Edward Belcher (1799-1877). Sir Edward was a Royal Navy officer with even more experience than Smyth. In his 40 years of service he captained numerous ships and generated a well-deserved reputation as a naval surveyor. His final command was of the unsuccessful expedition to find the missing and ill-fated explorer, Sir John Franklin. A cousin of Frederick Marryat, it can be plausibly argued that his novel, Horatio Howard Brenton, was the real model for C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower. If you want to understand modern nautical fiction, you have to understand the language they used and the way they actually used it-not the way you think they used it.

A useful and illustrated reference to nautical terms with more than 2500 alphabetical entries, often cross-referenced.

Most professions have their own languages, and the U.S. Navy with its labored acronyms is certainly no exception. Those in and out of the naval profession will find this dictionary an essential tool in deciphering their unique language, which has its origins in the days of sail and continues to mutate in the ever-growing vocabulary of technology. For this completely revised and fully updated edition, Deborah Cutler and Thomas Cutler identify and clearly define a vast array of acronyms and abbreviations that can make documents and conversations with naval professionals so bewildering. Highly qualified NAVSPEAK linguists, the Cutlers have built upon the original work, culling, adding, and bringing the entries up to date for the twenty-first century. Official abbreviations like NGA are included as well as such colorful, unofficial vocabulary as SNAFU. Helpful notations of word origins for the very old and very new make definitions even clearer.

Jackspeak is a comprehensive reference guide to the humorous and colourful slang of the Senior Service, explaining in layman's termsthe otherwise cryptic everyday language of the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines and the Fleet Air Arm. Featuring more than 4,000 alphabetical entries, it was compiled by an ex-RM surgeon who spent 24 years in theservice. With useful cross-references and examples of common usagethroughout, along with excellent illustrations by Tugg, the cartoonistfrom service newspaper Navy News, it is the essential book forcurrent and ex-Navy personnel and their families, or anyone interested in the modern armed forces. Conway is proud to present a revised and updated edition of this classic volume, which is already acknowledged as the standard reference for every Jack, Jenny and Royal joining the Andrew, or for any civvy who wants a real insight into the unique culture of the Navy.