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Dogsbody
This is an article about a military rank. For the novel by Diana Wynne Jones, see Dogsbody (novel). A Dogsbody, or less commonly dog robber in the Royal Navy is a junior officer; someone who does drudge work. An American equivalent would be a "gofer" or "grunt."

The Royal Navy used dried peas boiled in a bag as one of their staple foods circa the early 1800s. Sailors nicknamed this vile substance "dog's body." In the early 20th century, junior officers and midshipmen who performed jobs more senior officers did not want to do began to be called "dogsbodys," and the term became more common in non-naval usage ca. 1930 to come to refer to people who were stuck with rough work.

The term Dogsbody hasn't always been derogatory, with a number of people deliberately using it as their callsign or handle; the most famous of these is probably Douglas Bader an RAF fighter pilot during the Second World War.

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Last updated on Friday June 27, 2008 at 09:29:04 PDT (GMT -0700)
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Don't be a dogsbody and be duped like me.(News)
Apr 11, 2008; Byline: By KAREN FAUGHEY A SICK prankster is conning innocent people into precarious positions - by falsely claiming that they...
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BACKTRACK - Every dogsbody has his day
Apr 02, 2004; THEREmay be no oval office, no hot line to high places, no flunkeys dancing dalliance, but the new president of Darlington...
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CABINET dogsbody John Denham had to go.(Features)
Jun 14, 2009; CABINET dogsbody John Denham had to go to Buckingham Palace to hand back his seals of office as Innovation, Universities and...
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Share exchange dogsbody comes of age in style
Jun 23, 2002; CINDERELLA is having a ball. London's Alternative Investment Market, supposedly the dogsbody of share exchanges, is enjoying a...
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Jag promise Irvine top-cat treatment; MOTORSPORT: ACE EAGER TO SHRUG OFF TRACK DOGSBODY TAG.(Sport)
Sep 15, 1999; EDDIE IRVINE will get top-cat treatment by Jaguar next season instead of the track dogsbody role he had rejected at Ferrari....
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