old salt

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word old salt. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word old salt, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say old salt in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word old salt you have here. The definition of the word old salt will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofold salt, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

Pronunciation

  • Audio (AU)(file)

Noun

old salt (plural old salts)

  1. (idiomatic) A seasoned sailor, especially one who is hardy and forthright in manner.
    • 1863, James Fenimore Cooper, chapter 24, in Miles Wallingford‎:
      [A]n old salt don't like to keep under hatches, while powder is burning on deck.
    • 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 289:
      None of the spears, however, had touched any vital part, and being a tough old salt he was able to pull through.
    • 1910, Lucy Maud Montgomery, chapter 2, in Kilmeny of the Orchard:
      "[Y]ou'll always find an old salt at the harbour ready and willing to take you out cod-fishing or lobstering."
    • 1931 November 23, “Heroes: Almost Ahab”, in Time:
      Peerless hero of U. S. mariners is Captain Ahab, the vindictive old salt who sailed the southern oceans screaming for more canvas, cursing tired crews, laughing wildly into the gale.
    • 2004, Jane Marie Malcolm, The Goodbye Lie, →ISBN, page 61:
      The old salt probably had more knowledge than anyone around when it came to the ports on the Atlantic coast, but he sensed the captain needed to talk so he patiently indulged him.

Translations

seadog — see seadog

References

  • “old salt”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia