Naval Slang For The Supply Officer
Naval slang has produced a variety of names for the Supply Officer. When in "supply charge" he/she is called the "Pusser" (a contraction of "Purser") and the term "Pusser" is used as an adjective, in a variety of contexts, to refer to something that is strictly disciplined, or Service, such as "Pusser's issue" and "Pusser's rum". Also, a Supply Officer may be referred to as the "SO" and he/she is sometimes described as belonging to the "white mafia" (referring to the historic white distinction cloth worn until 1956). Rather less common now is the nickname "Pay" (being short for Paymaster) and its lower-deck equivalent of "Paybob". Those supply officers appointed as a Secretary to an admiral or captain may be referred to as "Sec", "Inky Fingers" or "Scratch" (from the scratching of his/her pen). In the classic film In Which We Serve (1942), Captain D's secretary, a Lieutenant-Commander, appears in the opening frames; in the credits actor John Varley is listed as "Secco".
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