shellback
Americannoun
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an old sailor.
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a person who has crossed the equator by boat.
noun
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informal a sailor who has crossed the equator Compare polliwog
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an experienced or old sailor
Etymology
Origin of shellback
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.
They have adjusted to a new time and a new social structure, and this is not necessarily because, as one old shellback snorted, "The '400' has been marked down to $3.98."
From Time Magazine Archive
Then he was shoved down a greased slide, belabored through another gauntlet, and pronounced a shellback.
From Time Magazine Archive
Mr. & Mrs. Hoover were exempt, he being a "shellback" with 14 crossings of the Equator to his credit, more than anyone else present except his naval aide, Commander A. T. Beauregard.
From Time Magazine Archive
Her father, a "shellback" who had crossed the Equator before, asked King Neptune if he could be ducked in his daughter's stead.
From Time Magazine Archive
But remembering Mr. Winkle's experiences, it was not without some misgivings that I found a shellback like myself galloping behind my lady's charger.
From A Labrador Doctor The Autobiography of Wilfred Thomason Grenfell by Sir Wilfred Thomason Grenfell
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
