shavetail
Americannoun
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U.S. Army. a second lieutenant.
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a young, newly broken mule.
Etymology
Origin of shavetail
1840–50, shave + tail 1; originally in reference to unbroken army mules, whose tails were shaved for identification
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.
The answer, essentially, is always the same: from John F. Kennedy to William Westmoreland to the freshest shavetail just off the jet at Bien Hoa, "They" underestimated Ho.
From Time Magazine Archive
Barney went straight in as an air cadet; Benny was commissioned an infantry shavetail but switched to aviation in less than a month.
From Time Magazine Archive
If Grove rolls in late, he has to prowl Intel's jammed lot looking for a space just like any shavetail engineer.
From Time Magazine Archive
The British, in independent little bands of armored cars and Bren carriers commanded by nothing loftier than shavetail lieutenants, flanked two successive defense lines, captured 1,100 men and 200 mules, and got the railway terminus.
From Time Magazine Archive
Over there is a young captain who this time last year was a "shavetail" second in command at a small post along the line of communications in Chihuahua.
From "And they thought we wouldn't fight" by Gibbons, Floyd
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.
