sea lawyer
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of sea lawyer
First recorded in 1805–15
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I too spent a number of timeouts with our oldest child engaged in conversation with a delightfully tenacious little sea lawyer.
From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2018
Isbrandtsen is a sea lawyer who goes on the assumption that it is possible to do anything which is not expressly prohibited by law.
From Time Magazine Archive
"My kid," Hambro said, "filibustering against going to bed. A real sea lawyer, that kid."
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
Old Jos, as he was called, was somewhat of a sea lawyer in his way, though not the less superstitious on that account.
From Hurricane Hurry by William Henry Giles Kingston
Captain Bunker's crew, profoundly convinced that their skipper's wife was a "woman's rights" fanatic, with the baleful qualities of "sea lawyer" superadded, marveled at his bringing her.
From Sally Dows by Bret Harte
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
