lance-sergeant

noun British Military.

a sergeant of the lowest rank.

(formerly) a corporal appointed to act as sergeant, without increase in pay; an acting sergeant.

Origin:
1805–15; see lance corporal

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary

lance sergeant

—n
	a corporal acting as a sergeant, usually on a temporary basis and without additional pay

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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00:10

Lance-sergeant is always a great word to know.

So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:

a fool or simpleton; ninny.

a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.

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"crew member [offscreen]: That's an awful big town San Francisco.
Weinberg: Strictly a one-whistle stop. There's only one city in the USA and that's New York.
Chief Sergeant: Oh, you're just another hometown hick, Weinberg. What's wrong with California?
Weinberg: California. The sun shines and nothing happens. Before you know it, you're sixty years old.
Chief Sergeant: It's no different from New York. My sister's been tryin' to get out of Brooklyn for the last forty years.
Weinberg: Brooklyn. That ain't New York, Chief. Once you cross that Brooklyn Bridge, you're out of this world. The only noise you hear is the hardening of your arteries. You know when I used to drive a hack, I had a pal who crossed that bridge back in 1929 and ain't never heard from him since."

-Dudley Nichols

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lance-sergeant

lance sergeant