Where did "The Admiral" come from?

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CPseudonym said:
The only thing I like better than the topic of this thread is reading the responses of some folks. Seriously, makes me wonder how they deal with the agony of the log up their arse bouncing back and forth in waves.
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Truly one of the best responses and should be nominated for the hall of fame.
 
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Hawgwash said:
Hehe...shot yourself in the foot there dear.

I dislike "dude" almost as much a "bro."

Now, an even bigger name question for me is boat names.
Down at the marina there are 2 boats, stern to stern, across from each other called Harmony and 2 others, both Journey. Another one called It's A Wonderful Life. How would you like to do the phonetics on this one in an emergency; Spirit Of Two Thousand And Ten? Seriously.

Funny how most commercial boats seem to find original names.
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Wifey B: I'd never really call you dude. We didn't fancy our boat names up. Figured we'd have to repeat them ten bazillion times so short and simple, yet unique to us.

Sometimes too there are name fads. Donna Rice comes along and Monkey Business becomes the most popular name it seems. Some really cute names like "Seas the Day" that are always near the top names. Aguaholic, Island Time, Second Wind (for sailboats). Then we've never had vanity license plates either.
 
I thought one of the first responses would be the Admiral comes from______(fill in the blank). Bug Tussle, OK, maybe.
 
My Sweetie; Perla to everyone else.

 
Hawgwash said:
I thought one of the first responses would be the Admiral comes from______(fill in the blank). Bug Tussle, OK, maybe.
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Wifey B: #1- David Farragut, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" TN. Town now named Farragut.
 
caltexflanc said:
I always consider it an insult to the designee like she's some nag, henpecker or something derogatory. Plus she has a name. We're a team; I'm George, she's Ann.
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I second this one! My other term for her is my bride! Best thing that ever happened to me

John
 
Heck I still feel funny saying " my wife". Sounds possessive. We use each other's names.

A don't call myself the captain either, so she can't possibly be the admiral.
 
Funny I thought this was "pay grade" related. If she makes more than I do then she's the Admiral..... :)
 
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CPseudonym said:
The only thing I like better than the topic of this thread is reading the responses of some folks. Seriously, makes me wonder how they deal with the agony of the log up their arse bouncing back and forth in waves.
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Yes!!!:D
 
CPseudonym said:
The only thing I like better than the topic of this thread is reading the responses of some folks. Seriously, makes me wonder how they deal with the agony of the log up their arse bouncing back and forth in waves.
Click to expand...
It's a pretty non-invasive way to examine some of the brains though.
 
1. I love CP'S post too, one of the best ever.

2. I never use the "admiral" thing with my wife, but then I've also always thought it was kind of odd or precious to call your wife "my bride." My wife was my bride on our wedding day, but to me that's a contemporaneous term - after we come home from the honeymoon she's my wife and I'm her husband. Funny, I love hearing her call me that, and it's a pleasure to call her my wife (reminders of how lucky I am on both counts). We do have one term of endearment for each other, but it only makes sense to us, and we tend not to use it in front of people. And when she's on the swim step casting off when we're pulling out of a slip, I call her name to make sure she's clear and hasn't fallen off before I put the boat in gear.
 
Interesting perspective. I know a lot of people who use the term. I've never heard any wives complain. Maybe it's a regional thing. Lots of folks making statements about disrespect, then refer their significant other as "My Wife.


"My Wife" is in fact, an archaic left-over of times gone by. It infers possession, like "My Car". If you stand on the ground that "Admiral" is disrespectful, then you should stop saying "My Wife" as well. Instead, use their name. In fact, I make a point to not introduce 'my wife' as "My Wife", rather I introduce her using her name. After-all, I don't expect you to start saying "Hey, my wife, how are you today?"


If you have more than one vessel, then Admiral indicates who is actually in charge of the fleet. I can't see how that could be misconstrued as being disrespectful.


If given the choice, I would think "First Mate" would be far worse than Admiral.
 
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I always thought the "admiral" thing was mostly (although not completely) a generational thing, used primarily by older guys, but I could certainly be wrong on that. I thought "my bride" was an older generation habit too, or a (US) midwestern thing, but again maybe it's wider than that. Although I don't use admiral myself, it's a lot milder than a lot of other spouse-terms I can think of - the old ball and chain, my old lady... ugh, those make me cringe.

On the "my wife" or my husband phrase, the problem there is if those phrases strike you wrong, what else do you use? "My spouse" sounds just wierd, like you're consciously trying to be politically correct, as if you could be married to a woman or a man or an aardvark interchangeably.

On the other hand, when we're crewing on somebody's sailboat I think it's hilarious to be introduced as rail meat, so I'm with CP and some others posters. Gotta lighten up, life is short.
 
Greetings,
After 45+ years of marital bliss (TRUE, not being sarcastic)....
When I bought and had our new (to us) "day boat" in the back yard my wife and yes, I do introduce her as such and likewise I'm "my husband", stated "So I guess this makes me the Admiral of the fleet then". I agreed.
She has never expressed, that I'm aware of, any displeasure in either term. She occasionally refers to me as Captain which I find rather humorous given my docking skills.
As has been mentioned, we're a team. No yelling, no nasty criticisms (onboard). My job is to make her life comfortable and I would like to think that her job is to make my life comfortable.
 
Shrew said:
I make a point to not introduce 'my wife' as "My Wife", rather I introduce her using her name.
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Isn't that what you do when you're with your mistress? And when with wife you say "this is my wife, Shanaynay"?
 
RT Firefly said:
My job is to make her life comfortable and I would like to think that her job is to make my life comfortable.
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How's that workin out for ya, RT? :blush:
 
Hawgwash said:
Hi there Sailor...
You got a broadside view of your "profile" boat and what is it?
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Yep, he has a broadside shot of the boat. Wait till you get a load of his crew.:socool:
 
mahal said:
Isn't that what you do when you're with your mistress? And when with wife you say "this is my wife, Shanaynay"?
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When introducing my mistress I say "this is my boat Lisas Way" :blush:

When introducing my wife to someone I generally say, "and this is my lovely wife Lisa".

If she is introducing me she generally says "and this is my husband Kevin".

Yes, this signifies ownership in an old fashioned way, but that it true. I am hers, and she is mine. There is strength there, both in the term and it's meaning.

To me referring to someone as your "spouse" or "partner" lowers the significance of the relationship to the modern day married today single tomorrow thing it seems to have become.

"admrial" while we joke about it is not a term we generally use. Its not that we couldn't, my wife is not so PC that it would bother her, it's just not a term we find a reason to use.

"admrial" is just an easy term to use on an internet forum to refer to your wife, and it effective at that. If someone wants to make a big deal about that, well you're going to have to get over it, because the term is widely used and is not going away.
 
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I had a good friend that would always introduce his wife as his first wife. They were married over 60 years when he passed in his 80s.
 
kthoennes said:
I always thought the "admiral" thing was mostly (although not completely) a generational thing, used primarily by older guys, but I could certainly be wrong on that.
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No, I think your observation is correct. It's certainly what I've observed on this forum and in real life.

I've also observed-- and this a generality-- that sailboat owners as a group are far more classy in their choice of boat names compared to powerboat owners. And that the corniest powerboat names tend to be connected with older boaters.

So for those who don't like the term "admiral" used this way, not to worry. I suspect that like a lot of old fashioned expressions, like "bee's knees," the use of "admiral" to refer to a wife will gradually die out.
 
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