A man of each mess who is caterer for the day, and answerable too, wherefore he is allowed the surplus grog, termed plush (which see). The cook, par excellence, in the navy, was a man of importance, responsible for the proper cooking of the food, yet not overboiling the meat to extract the fat his perquisite. The coppers were closely inspected daily by the captain, and if they soiled a cambric handkerchief the cook's allowance was stopped. Now, the ship's cook is a first-class petty officer, and cannot be punished as heretofore. In a merchantman the cook is, ex officio, the hero of the fore-sheet, as the steward is of the main one.
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
or Cooker n. NewZealand colonists' slang. First applied to the wild pigs ofNew Zealand, supposed t...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris