bosun, bo'sun
var. boatswain, representing the common pronunciation (ˈbəʊs(ə)n).
| 1868 W. S. Gilbert Bab Ballads 85 And a bo'sun tight, and a midshipmite, And the crew of the captain's gig. 1894 Stevenson & Osbourne Ebb-Tide i. v. 77 He had a bo'sun's chair rigged over the rail..and went overboard with a pot of paint. 1930 ‘Greenhorn’ Tinker, Tailor vi. 134 We were swung alongside in a bosun's chair to scrape the dirt off the masts and spars. 1963 Times 26 Feb. 12/6 The bo'sun's call is the object one sees..hanging on a chain round the neck of the sailor on duty at the gangway of a British warship. Some people..call it a pipe. |