Common term for US Marines. Comes from the uniforms used until the Civil War which had a 3-inch strip of stiffened leather. The leather served the dual purposes of keeping correct posture and protecting the neck from sabre slashes and sea spray.
Leath"er*neck` (?), n. Zool.
The sordid friar bird of Australia (Tropidorhynchus sordidus).
© Webster 1913.
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