411 REFERENCE · Wiktionary
Mae West
Reference material by Wiktionary contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
English
Etymology
Named after the actress and sex symbol Mae West, who was well known during the war. The inflatable front was taken to be like her busty figure.
Noun
en informal A type of life jacket used by Allied forces in World War II having an inflatable rubber bag on the chest of the wearer.
en 1954 1957 w:Ian Fleming Live and Let Die (novel) Live and Let Die London Pan Books Beau Desert 192 The most successful form of shark repellent, according to US Naval Research Laboratory tests, was a combination of copper acetate and a dark nigrosine dye, and cakes of this mixture were apparently now attached to the Mae Wests of all the US Armed Forces.
en eponyms