man-o'-war's-man

Updated: May 13, 2025

The crisis was that in which Sailor Bill had become a subject of dispute between the two sheiks, in which not only their respective followers of the biped kind appeared to take part, but also every quadruped in the camp: dogs and dromedaries, horses, goats, and sheep, as if each had an interest in the ownership of the old man-o'-war's-man.

Mayne Reid - The Boy Slaves

I placed myself to listen attentively. "It's a short story," he continued, "and won't take many words. I warn't always what I am now. No, I was a man-o'-war's-man for many a year, and, though I say it myself, there warn't many in the service as knew their duty or did it better. But all that went for nothing.

Mayne Reid - Ran Away to Sea