son of a gun
/ˌsʌn əv ə ˈɡʌn
/ informal, chiefly North American A jocular or affectionate way of addressing or referring to someone: he’s a pretentious son of a gun, but he’s got a heart of gold...
- As I bent to pick it up, I noticed the silvery glint of the top of a can and a bit of green label through one of the torn corners and awareness dawned: son of a gun, my Old Man had come through for me!
- I knew I'd get a laugh sooner or later from this son of a gun.
- If it takes another day, another week, a month, another five years, we are going to get this son of a gun.
With reference to the guns carried aboard ships: the epithet is said to have been applied originally to babies born at sea to women allowed to accompany their husbands
See parent entry: son