etymology - Origin of "son of a gun"


Growing up there was a friend of my family who would often use son of a gun as a slang term. For example,



And that son of a gun has a 300hp motor in it.



Like any father, my Dad wanted to raise me right, so he banned me from using the phrase. He implied that the phrase was synonymous with son of a bitch. However in more recent years I've often wondered: What is the origin of son of a gun, and does it really have anything to do with illicit relationships?




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