More trivia

[akarunway 1]

Where did the terms "son of a gun" and "square meal" come from?

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[Jimmybb 0]

Apparently son of a gun comes from the world of sea faring, when sailors were sailors! It referred to ‘ladies’ who would come aboard a ship when it was in harbour, as the sailors were not allowed to leave, then sailors would do with the ‘ladies’ what sailors and ‘ladies’ do (for££$$$), but seeing as there were no beds or no real privacy, they would entertain themselves on the guns and gun decks of the ships. The offspring was therefore a “son of a gun”.

[akarunway 1]

WRONG close tho

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[Jimmybb 0]

who says i'm wrong ??

[DYEVOUT 0]

dates from 1708; therefore, NOT son of a "shotgun marriage", which is only recorded from 1922.

Possibly, it means "cradled in the gun-carriage of a ship"; allegedly, the place traditionally given to
women on board who went into labour -- the only space affording her any privacy and without blocking a gangway -- was between two guns.

Or it may mean more simply "son of a soldier".

----------------=8^)----------------------
"I think that was the wrong tennis court."

[akarunway 1]

The History Channel says the men of the British Navy weren't allowed shore leave (so they wouldn't go AWOL) so in port the women were allowed to set up camp on the ship. Labor was beween two cannons and a shot was fired to help induce it. SON OF A GUN. SNOPES anyone

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[akarunway 1]

"Square meal " comes from the square plates the food was served on on British Navel vessels

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.