shavetail


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shavetail

(ˈʃeɪvˌteɪl)
n
1. (Military) military slang censorious a derogatory term for a second lieutenant or newly commissioned officer
2. (Animals) a pack mule that has not been broken in or trained yet
3. censorious a person with little experience
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

shave•tail

(ˈʃeɪvˌteɪl)

n. Slang.
a newly commissioned army officer, esp. a second lieutenant.
[1890–95, Amer.; orig. in reference to unbroken army mules, whose tails were shaved for identification]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
References in periodicals archive ?
It was as a newly minted shavetail assigned to a base in San Francisco, CA, where he first faced an armed opponent alone.
THE GUNFIGHTS OF GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR
It was a new Army in which DePuy served in World War II, from shavetail to lieutenant colonel, in an AUS division commanding a battalion and earning the Distinguished Service Cross, three silver stars, bronze star with V, two purple hearts, and a Regular-Army commission.
General William E. DePuy: Preparing the Army for Modern War
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