Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Informal A midshipman.
  • noun A middy blouse.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • A colloquial diminutive of mid, an abbreviation of midshipman.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A colloquial abbreviation of midshipman.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun nautical, slang a midshipman

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun blouse with a sailor collar

Etymologies

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Examples

  • _Fatima_, the first swab, as I told you, got an ugly scrape in the leg that prevented him from moving; so when the second lieutenant was put in charge of the dhow to take her up to Zanzibar, I was the only responsible man the captain could think of to send cruising with the pinnace, as the middy was a harum-scarum youngster, who hadn't got thought enough, and neither the boatswain nor Chips could be taken away from their duties without perhaps the ship suffering.

    The Penang Pirate and, The Lost Pinnace

  • Down a "middy" of Tooheys New (a downmarket brew but perfect for this pub) to whet your appetite for lunch.

    City Walk: Sydney 2008

  • Jerome, the youngest of the whole family, the "middy," as Napoleon liked to call him, had been placed in the navy, in which profession he passed as having distinguished himself, after leaving his admiral in rather a peculiar manner, by attacking an English convoy, and eventually escaping the English by running into the port of Concarneau, believed to be inaccessible.

    Complete Project Gutenberg Collection of Memoirs of Napoleon Various

  • Some one among the crew was humming the refrain of the old anchor-hoisting song, "Le Chien d'Or -- I love your Daughter;" a melody that has haunted the River St. Lawrence since the day when his comrades forcibly carried off Admiral Nelson, then a "middy," from the wiles and fascinations of the daughter of the landlord of "Le Chien d'Or."

    "The Red Watch" With the First Canadian Division in Flanders John Allister Currie

  • She's gone in for dress reform now, you know, a kind of middy blouse made out of a striped portière with a kilted skirt of the same material and a Scotch cap.

    Turn About Eleanor F. Graham [Illustrator] Cootes

  • As might have been expected her garb was neither rich nor smart, but it was pretty and well made and evidently fitted for her life: a loose "middy," blue skirt, woolen stockings and rather solid little boots.

    The Sky Line of Spruce Edison Marshall 1930

  • So she searched again, and came upon a blue-and-white "middy" suit and a dark-blue "Norfolk."

    Seven Miles to Arden Ruth Sawyer 1925

  • There on the beds lay five complete riding suits: divided skirts of khaki, "middy" blouses of a cooler material, and soft Panama hats, each wound with a blue scarf and finished with a smart bow.

    Blue Bonnet's Ranch Party Edyth Ellerbeck Read 1924

  • Although no average cake would have held the candles to which Miss Mercy's birthdays entitled her, she was given to "middy" blouses and pink sweaters.

    The Dude Wrangler Caroline Lockhart 1916

  • Jerome, the youngest of the whole family, the "middy," as Napoleon liked to call him, had been placed in the navy, in which profession he passed as having distinguished himself, after leaving his admiral in rather a peculiar manner, by attacking an English convoy, and eventually escaping the English by running into the port of Concarneau, believed to be inaccessible.

    Memoirs of Napoleon — Complete Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne 1801

Comments

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  • In Australia it refers to a certain size of beer glass, although this size varies depending on where you are. I think. I'm no expert in beer glass sizes. Someone else can untangle pony, glass, pot, schooner, middy, etc.

    October 23, 2008

  • also a naval officer in old American slang, probably the origin of the clothing name.

    May 26, 2009

  • Also slang for "midfielder" in lacrosse, though a more common spelling might be middie.

    May 26, 2009

  • Where I live in Annapolis, slang for a midshipman (cadet at the United States Naval Academy). Probably more commonly spelled middie. Actually slightly derogatory. The middies would refer to one of their own colloquially as a mid.

    St. John's College, my school, is just across the street (and over a brick wall - theirs, not ours). We're referred to as Johnnies. Which leaves the ubiquitous townie for everyone else.

    May 26, 2009

  • Also, this should be affectionate slang for the Midianites.

    May 27, 2009