Buenos dias, Russpickers!


Bull Meechum used the term "russpicker" several times during the film, i.e. "To all squids and russpickers, haroogah haroogah haroogah!" I know "squid" is a derogatory terms that's used by other services (this former "zoomie" included) to refer to someone in the Navy. I couldn't find an exact definition using Google or Dictionary.com for the term "russpicker" however. I get the gist of it, that he's slamming on the Navy pilots they're flying against in the combat exercises, but could somebody give me a more precise definition for russpicker, including the word's history? Thanks very much!

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Rust ... not russ. But I don't remember the context.

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That makes sense...I'd betcha it has something to do with scraping rust (along with barnicles) off the hulls of the ships while in dry dock...right after they swabbed the decks!

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Some joke.

Ex swabbie.

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he's a comedian, that's for sure.



Season's Greetings!

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Rust Pickers

Literally: People who pick (or scrape) rust off of boats.

I've had a few friends who made the unfortunate mistake of joining the Navy, and they tell me that untrained seamen spend a lot of time doing menial work such as scraping rust off the decks and then repainting the metal, to protect it from the saltwater.

Therefore, "rust-picker" is not just saying that someone is in the "worst" of the armed services, but that they have the worst job in that service.

It is considered an insult.

Here's a reference:

sailor
acceptable: bluejacket, tar.
Not so acceptable: gob, swab, swabbie, squid.
Probably fighting words: anchor clanker, rust picker, deck ape.

source: https://www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/lingo/s#

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Well, this brings me back a ways. My very first day aboard the USS John Rodgers, DD-983, I spent forever cleaning up the chaff system.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_John_Rodgers_(DD-983)

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My dad was on a U.S. Navy destroyer in WWII. While he was still a seaman, before getting promoted to petty officer, he spent a lot of time doing what was called "chip and red-lead", which consisted of chipping, scraping, and sanding off rust, then applying a reddish, lead-based primer coat.

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