sea lawyer

American

noun

Nautical Slang.

a sailor inclined to question or complain about the orders given.

sea lawyer British

noun

slang nautical a contentious seaman

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

"I repeat, I am not a sea lawyer, Mr. Ricks."

From Cappy Ricks Or, the Subjugation of Matt Peasley by Kyne, Peter B. (Peter Bernard)

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 Harte, Bret

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023