mud pilotn.
/ˈmʌd ˌpʌɪlət/, U.S. /ˈməd ˌpaɪlət/ Nautical colloquial.
A pilot who works on vessels only in shallow waters; a river pilot. Also in extended (derogatory) use.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > sailor > sailors involved in specific duties or activities > [noun] > helmsman or pilot > pilot working in shallow water
mud pilot1856
1856 C. Nordhoff Merchant Vessel viii. 94 A Dungeness or deep-sea pilot as these are called, in contradistinction to the river men, who are known as mud pilots.
1899 F. T. Bullen Log of Sea-waif 342 Somehow the ‘mud’-pilot found us, his boat taking away our deep-water man.
1934 P. H. Godsell Arctic Trader 265 The captains of the whaling vessels always took care to keep between the ice pack and the shore, and for this reason were often contemptuously referred to as ‘Mud-Pilots’.
1965 R. B. Oram Cargo Handling i. 15 In the port of London, a lesser type of pilot..will take over the ship at the lock from the Trinity House pilot... To indicate his inferior status he is known generally as a mud pilot.
1998 Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch (Nexis) 7 Jan. b1 The hulls of deep draft ocean ships nearly touch bottom at some sections of the shipping lanes... We always considered ourselves mud pilots here.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1856