2387: son of a gun Jul 1, 2021

The phrase 'son of a gun' is often thought to be a euphemistic replacement for another worse insult, but this is not so true. While its precise origins are certainly a matter of some dispute, it seems to have originated somewhere around the mid- to late-18th century as military slang. The earliest uses of this phrase was in reference to a military brat, though other, less reliable theories have emerged about its use for those infants born on the ships of the Royal Navy, or even earlier.