Welcome to My Blog

How did the phrase “son of a gun” originate?

Thursday, 13 March 2025

Trip Guide News

It can be said as a compliment or shouted after stubbing your toe, but the original context of "son of a gun" may have been far more literal.
Word smarts wordmark

Daily edition

Idioms

How did the phrase "son of a gun" originate?

It can be said as a compliment or shouted after stubbing your toe, but the original context of "son of a gun" may have been far more literal.

Man's hand showing gun gesture

"S on of a gun!" is an interjection with many uses. It can be used as an affectionate term of address when slapping your best friend on the back and calling them a "son of a gun" after a fun night out. You might also shout "son of a gun!" after accidentally slamming your thumb inside the kitchen cabinet. Either way, this is an interesting combination of words, so let's take a closer look at its roots.

Unfortunately, "son of a gun" is one of those phrases without a 100% certifiable origin story, so we're left to make some assumptions based on the info we have. One theory is that it's a rhyming euphemism for the far more crude phrase "son of a b*tch," (which originated in Shakespeare's King Lear if you want a bit of literary trivia to excuse your cursing). While this may be true, there's no direct evidence to back up the euphemism theory, so it's safer to assume the tie between the phrases is conjecture.

A likelier theory involves British navy life. We begin with a citation from an 1823 slang dictionary by John Badcock, stating "son of a gun" means "a soldier's bastard [child]." This is supported by an 1867 nautical terms compilation from William Henry Smyth, who wrote the term is "[a]n epithet … originally applied to boys born afloat, when women were permitted to accompany their husbands to sea." In each of these examples, the "son of a gun" was the literal offspring of a navy or military man.

While we can't conclusively claim the term was coined by British sailors, those citations do indicate that "son of a gun" was widely used among seafaring Brits before being widely adopted by others. Over time, the idiom lost its inherent connection to the military and is used today as an exclamation, both positive and negative.

Continue reading

Right arrow

Thanks for supporting our sponsors! They help keep Word Smarts free for everyone.

Artist palette emoji

Artist Palette

Meaning: Depicts a classic wooden artist's palette with colorful dabs of paint.


Evolution: The Artist Palette emoji 🎨 was likely created for painters, but it can celebrate artistry or creative expression in any form.


Usage: [Slack message:] Have you seen the new logo design mockup? It's a work of art 🎨

Linguaphile by Julie Sedivy

Linguaphile

By Julie Sedivy

Sedivy's fourth book serves as a love letter to her life's passion. Despite her academic background as a linguist specializing in the intersection of linguistics and psychology, the prose is accessible and left me feeling like I, too, could understand the nuances of language acquisition. I grew up in a household with Deaf grandparents, and I particularly appreciated the welcoming treatment of signed languages.

Jennifer A. Freeman, Word Smarts Senior Editor

Shop now

We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation.

Visual of an em dash in English grammar
Vocabulary Star divider 3 MIN READ Star divider
Heart Icon 66 LIKES

When Should You Use an Em Dash?

Writers love the em dash — you'll find them scattered liberally through books and articles, pushing commas and colons out of the way. When should you use this special punctuation mark?

Continue reading

Right arrow
A World of Words

Subscribe

Powered by Optimism
1550 Larimer Street, Suite 431, Denver, CO 80202
Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use Do Not Sell My Information

No comments:

Post a Comment