General
jarhead
What does jarhead mean?
Slang for a US Marine, originally from the high-and-tight regulation haircut that makes the head look like a Mason jar — shaved sides, flat lid on top. Some accounts trace it instead to the old high-collared dress blue uniform making the head look like it's sticking out of a jar. Used by Marines themselves, by other services (sometimes cheekily), and burned into pop culture by Anthony Swofford's 2003 memoir 'Jarhead' and the Sam Mendes film.
"Twenty years a jarhead and he still squares away the corners of his bedsheets."
Origin
Early 20th-century US military slang, popularised in WWII. Origin debated between the haircut and the dress-blues collar.
Frequently asked questions
What does jarhead mean?
It's slang for a US Marine, taken from the high-and-tight haircut that resembles a jar.
How do you use jarhead in a sentence?
"His older brother's a jarhead, stationed at Camp Pendleton."
Where does jarhead come from?
It refers to the Marines' distinctive high-and-tight haircut, which makes the head look like a jar.
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