What are some of the nautical terms I hear midshipmen use?
Let’s start with a few basics. On your first day at the Academy, you begin learning a whole new vocabulary of nautical and Naval Academy terms. Before long, the floor is “the deck,” the wall is “the bulkhead”, the restroom is “the head”, and most importantly, a “scuttlebutt” is a drinking fountain. Likewise, midshipmen seniority is stated in a way different from traditional college terms. Freshmen, or fourth class, are plebes; sophomores, or third class, are youngsters; juniors are second class, and seniors, or first class, are firsties.
