son of a gun
Slang.
noun, plural sons of guns.
a rogue; rascal; scoundrel: That son of a gun still owes me $20.
a tiresome or disagreeable matter, chore, etc.
(used as an affectionate greeting, term of address, etc.): Charlie Humpelmeyer, you old son of a gun, how are you?
interjection
(used as an exclamation of irritation, surprise, dismay, etc.).
RELATED CONTENT
A Brief History Of The Letter HThough it’s a high-value letter in Scrabble and Words with Friends, H is a relatively common letter. Statistically speaking, it is the eighth most commonly used letter in the English language. That’s because H is usually paired with other consonants like wh, ch, sh, and gh. H is found in the most common two-letter pair (th) and in the most common three-letter combination (the). (The letter …
Nearby words
- somoza, anastasio,
- somy,
- son,
- son et lumière,
- son of a bitch,
- son of adam,
- son of god,
- son of man,
- son-,
- son-in-law
Origin of son of a gun
1700–10; perhaps orig. the illegitimate offspring of a soldier, though later influenced by British argot gun thief; cf. gun moll
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
son of a gun
noun plural sons of guns
slang, mainly US and Canadian a rogue or rascal: used as a jocular form of address
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