USNA JARGON

Every Profession has its own Jargon, and the Navy is no exception. For the Navy, Bulkhead, Deck, and Overhead are Wall, Floor, and Ceiling. Some of this Nautical Terminology has found its way into every day use. These hybrid origins of terminology are delineated herein. Some Jargon changes over the years and some new words are added. Below you will find a great selection.

PHRASE	MEANING
100'S NIGHT	Night in February, 100 Days from Graduation; PLEBEs switched places with FIRSTIEs and take reigns of power; Tradition halted in 2003, as deemed Conduct unbecoming an Officer
AHOY	Old traditional greeting for hailing other Vessels; originally Viking Battle Cry
ALL CALLS	PLEBE Punishment that requires reciting Daily Menu (Chow Calls) more often than usual
ALPHA CODE	Six-Digit Number given to every Plebe on I- Day; 1st 2 Numbers indicate Graduation Year; number kept throughout stay in Annapolis and printed on everything from clothing to medical paperwork; stays with MID after leaving Yard
ANCHOR	Graduating FIRSTIE with lowest OOM; traditionally receives $1 from each Classmate; also King Hall center point where Prayers given, Announcements made, and Meal begun with Bell ringing
APPLIED STRUGGLE	Applied Strength Test; test of physical ability including push-ups, pull-ups, and endurance
AQUA ROCK	Non-Swimming MID
ARMY WEEK	Week prior to Army/Navy Football Game; favorite week for conduct of outrageous Activities, Pranks, and Covert Actions; lots of good stories born
ARTICLE	PLEBEs required to read/recite from Newspaper Articles; have to explain contents of several articles daily; Parents sometimes get frantic requests for current events, as PLEBEs trying to keep up with outside World and fulfill required Article Count
ARUGAHHH!	Marine Corps Yell; also heard as HOOO-YAAAH! and OOOO-RAAAH!
ATLANTIC PROFESSIONAL AFLOAT TRAINING FOR MIDSHIPMAN PROGRAM	All Midshipmen participate in this program; better known as YP Cruise; MIDs learn to apply lessons learned in NS-100.
AVIATION QUALIFICATION TEST/ FLIGHT APTITUDE RATING	Aviation Test; 2-Part Test: 1 Math and 1 Flying; taken in 2nd Class Year; passing required for continuing on to Flight Selection
BAG-IT	Not bothering to try; giving up when others still working hard
BANCROFT (MOTHER B)	Largest Dormitory in World; Home to 4,000+ Mids for 4 Years by the Bay.
BARN	Room in Bancroft Hall with 4, or more, Racks
BEACH LIFTER	MID working in Weight Room to look good instead of working for Cardiovascular, or Conditioning, benefit
BEAT ARMY	Chant heard over and over and over again in every Passageway, at every Game forever
BEAT FEET	To leave quickly
BED CHECK	Check if MIDs in Racks at night
BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP	In wooden Ships, Devil is longest Ship Seam, running from Bow to Stern; when At-Sea and Devil had to be caulked, Sailor sat in Bo'sun's Chair and was suspended between Devil and Sea (The Deep), very precarious position, especially when Underway.
BILGE	To put someone Down
BILLET	Place, or Position; used throughout Navy
BIRTHDAY BALL	Marine Corps Gala held on 10 Nov each Year to celebrate their Anniversary
BLACK MONDAY	Monday after Brigade Reform; PLEBEs surrounded by thousands of Upperclassmen instead of just few Detailers as in PLEBE Summer
BLACK N	Demerits for inappropriate behavior; when receive 100, or more, Demerits for 1 Infraction, considered Black N; MIDs used to compete for this one, then Command decided to keep Demerits at 99, or below, even for serious Offenses
BLACK SUNDAY	Sunday of PPW; PLEBEs' Families depart Gate 1; PLEBEs faced with reality that have a whole year ahead of them before they aren't at bottom of pile
BLUE AND GOLD	USNA Alma Mater; Words available at http://www.usna-parents.org/bg.html
BLUE MAGNET	Bedspreads at USNA are Navy Blue; Sleep can be big draw for many MIDs, thus Racks become Blue Magnets
BOGUS	Bad Thing
BOONDOCKER	Low-Cut Footwear
BOW WOW	Battalion Officer Of The Watch
BRACE	Braced PLEBEs have Chins tucked deeply into Necks and Heads stretched high with Eyes in Boat (Straight Ahead); Position commonly seen during PLEBE Summer
BRAG SHEET	MIDs write own advertisements to showcase accomplishments; Submit Sheets when Performance Rates being determined
BRAIN DUMP	Completely forget everything once test, or performance, over
BRASSARD	Cloth Band worn on Upper Sleeve to show temporary responsibilities
BRAVO ZULU (BZ)	Great Job; used throughout Navy
BRICK	PLEBEs bestow a Brick on Upperclassman who had most unappealing Weekend Date
BRIGADE	All MIDs, together, make up Brigade
BUBBLEHEAD	Submariner
BUDWEISER	SEAL Breast Insignia looks like Budweiser Seal
BULKHEAD	Wall, whether on Land, or onboard Ship; in Navy everything is At-Sea, even when on Dry Land
BULL	Non-Technical Majors; English, History, Government, and so forth
BULLDOG	Marine Officer Candidate School, Quantico, Virginia; has Training Option that some Mids choose for Summer Training
BUTTER BAR	Gold Bars worn by Ensigns and 2nd Lieutenants
CAKE	Something easy
CANOE U	Nickname for USNA
CARRY ON	What PLEBEs want to hear, as can relax and don't have to follow strict rules and regulations of their lowly station
CHAIN OF COMMAND	Administrative and Operational Channels above every Navy Member
CHERRY	MID who has never gotten in trouble - yet
CHEST CANDY	Ribbons, Awards, Insignia
CHEWING THE FAT	GOD made the Vittles but the Devil made the Cook, was a popular saying used by Seafaring Men in 19th Century when Salted Beef was staple diet aboard Ship; this tough Cured Beef, suitable only for long voyages when nothing else was cheap or would keep as well, required prolonged chewing to make it edible; Sailors often chewed one chunk for hours, just as it were chewing gum, and referred to this practice as Chewing The Fat
CHIT	Command-Issued Paper giving permission for some privilege; MIDs can request Chit to leave Yard when others are not allowed; get Medical Chits to avoid Physical Activity while recuperating from Injury; must apply in writing through Chain Of Command to get Chit
CHOKER WHITES	White Summer Uniforms that have High Tight Collar
CHOP	To march with Knees popping high in exaggerated staccato motions; rapid way for PLEBEs to get around; easily recognizable at a far distance
CHOW CALLS	Essential part of PLEBE Summer; heard loudly throughout Yard; PLEBEs shout out location of next Formation, inside or outside, Uniform required, Day's Menu (Sometimes Menus for next Day or Week), Names of MIDs and Officer On Duty that day; Week's Professional Topic and Major Yard Events; PLEBEs memorize Chow Calls every day and must recite On-Command regularly
CIVILIAN	Day without Classes
COLOR COMPANY	Company with most accumulated Color Points for everything from Academics and Athletics to Parades and Military Activities; being Color Company is good thing; get Bragging Rights and Extra Privileges
COME AROUND	Upperclassmen can require PLEBEs to recite Rates and Professional Knowledge
COMMANDANTS LIST	MIDs with 2.9 SQPR, or better, B in Performance and B, or better in PE
COUNTDOWN	Starting 30 Days before Herndon, PLEBEs in each Company, by Company Number-on their Countdown Number Day, do some sort of Reconnaissance or Prank
COVER	MID Hat
CRABTOWN	Annapolis
CRIPPLE CROWN	Tongue in check reference to MID who has worst scores on Semester's PE Tests, Applied Strength, Mile Run, and Obstacle Course
CROW'S NEST	Raven, or Crow, was an essential part of Viking Navigation Equipment; these land-lubbing birds were carried onboard to help Ship's Navigator determine where closest land lay when weather prevented sighting Shore; in cases of poor visibility, Crow was released and Navigator plotted Courses corresponding to Bird's flight path because Crows invariably headed towards Land; Norsemen carried Birds in cages secured to Mast Tops; later, as Ships grew and Lookouts stood Watch in Tub located high on Main Mast, name of Crow's Nest given to this Tub; while today's Navy still uses Lookouts in addition to Radars, etc., Crow's Nest is of the past
CUP OF JOE	Josephus Daniels, 18 May 1862-to-15 January 1948, appointed Secretary of the Navy by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913; among his Navy Reforms were inaugurating practice of making 100 Fleet Sailors eligible for Naval Academy; introduction of Women into Service, and abolishment of Officers' Wine Mess; From that time on, strongest drink onboard Navy Ships could only be Coffee and over time, Cup of Coffee became known as a Cup Of Joe
DANT	Short for Commandant
DARK AGES	Cold, difficult Period between Christmas and Spring Vacation, when Bad Weather and NO Breaks make it most depressing time of Year
DEAD WEEK	Week before Commissioning Week
DEAN'S LIST	List of MIDs with 3.4 GPA, or Higher
DECK	Floors are Decks in Navy; everything is At-Sea, - whether it is, or not is irrelevant
DEMERITS	Strikes against MID; Navy can't strike MID, but they can give Demerits; more for worse Offense and harsher consequences
DEVIL TO PAY	Primarily describes having unpleasant results from some action that has been taken; originally, this expression described unpleasant tasks aboard Wooden Ships; Devil was Ship's longest Hull Seam; Caulking was performed with Pay, or Pitch (Tar); task accomplished by squatting in Bilges, which was despised by every Seaman
DIXIE CUP	Blue-Rimmed Sailor's Hat worn by PLEBEs during PLEBE Summer; discarded after Plebe Year
DOG IT	To give less than your best
DRAG	Guest shown around Academy by MID; potential USNA Candidate; MID spending Day hosting Drag and gets Carry On
E-FRYS	E-Mails notifying MIDs of Conduct Offenses
EIGHT BELLS	Aboard Navy Ships, Bells are struck to designate Hours of Watch; each Watch is 4 Hours in length, and Bells are struck as follows: 1 Bell is struck after 1st Half-Hour, 2 Bells after 1 Hour, 3 Bells after an hour and a half, 4 Bells after 2 hours, and so forth up to 8 Bells, completing 4 Hours; completing Watch with no incidents to report was 8 Bells and All is Well; practice of using Bells stems from Sailing Ships, when Sailors couldn't afford time pieces and relied on Ship's Bells kept by Ship's Boy utilizing 1/2-Hour Glass; as sand ran out, he would turn Glass over and ring appropriate Number of Bells
EYES IN THE BOAT	PLEBEs must keep eyes straight ahead without focusing on anything in particular
FATHOM	Fathom was originally land measuring term derived from Ango-Saxon Word Faetm meaning to embrace; most measurements based on average size of body parts, such as Hand (Horses still measured this way) or Foot; Fathom is average distance from Fingertip to Fingertip of Man’s outstretched Arms -- about 6 Feet; since Man stretches Arms to embrace Sweetheart, Britain's Parliament declared that distance be called Fathom and a unit of measure; Fathom remains 6 Feet; also used to describe taking Measure or To Fathom (Figure Out) something
FEELING BLUE	If sad and feeling blue, using phrase coined from custom among many old Deepwater Sailing Ships; if Ship lost Captain, or any Officer, during voyage, Ship would fly Blue Flags and have Blue Band painted along entire Hull when returning to Port
FIRST CLASS ALLEY	Walkways on far sides of Wardroom, where Upperclassmen congregate
FIRSTIE	1st Class MID (Civilian Colleges call Students in 4th Year, Seniors; at USNA, called FIRSTIEs; 1st Year Students are 4th Class)
FLAMER	Upperclass who is excessively harsh on PLEBEs; SPPA: 2nd Class MID
FORECASTLE	Appropriate pronunciation for this word is fo'ksul; Forecastle is forward part of Main Deck; derives name from days of Viking Galleys when Wooden Castles were built on Forward and After parts of Main Deck from which Archers and other Fighting Men could shoot Arrows and throw Spears, Rocks, and so forth
FORTY YEAR SWIM	Only 40 Minutes; for swimming challenged, seems like 40 Years; accomplished during 2nd Class Year
FRY	To generously distribute Demerits
FUNNY MONEY	MID Credit System for MID Store and Yard; involving Pay and Automatic Deductions for Services whether used or not, such as Haircuts, Tailor Shop, and so forth
GALLEY	Ship’s Kitchen; corruption of Gallery; Ancient Sailors cooked Meals on Brick or Stone Gallery laid Amidships
GAS FACTOR	Unhappiness Factor
GEEKERS	Ugly Eyeglasses issued to MIDs
GOAT COURT	Two enclosed areas of Bancroft Hall formed by 3rd Wing in the 1st Regiment and by 4th Wing in the 2nd Regiment; rooms overlook Goat Courts and view lower roof and windows; are no trees or shrubbery and is noisy; no wind, so not helpful to keep windows open
GOUGE	Stuff necessary to get by every day; always need to memorize something: Military Rates, Course Materials, and so forth; MIDs need to know their Gouge
GUN SALUTES	Gun Salutes were first fired as an act of good faith; in days when it took so long to reload Guns, it was proof of friendly intention when Ship's Cannon were discharged upon entering Port
GUNGY	Inspired to support NAVY
HALL RAT	MID who stays in Bancroft Hall on Weekends; has NO Social Life
HAPPINESS FACTOR	Number of Christmas Leave Days divided by Number of Days until Leave
HEAD	Bathroom aboard Navy Ship; term comes from days of Sailing Ships when place for Crew to relieve themselves was way forward on either side of Bowsprit, integral Hull part to which Figurehead fastened
HERNDON	21' Granite Obelisk near Chapel; covered with Lard and scaled by PLEBEs; replace Dixie Cup with MID's Cover; happens at beginning of Commissioning Week
HIGH AND TIGHT	Marine Haircut