sky-pilot

sky pilot

slang A chaplain who serves in one of the military services. He suggested that I go speak with the sky pilot to talk through some of the moral issues I'd been trying to come to terms with. We all gathered around the sky pilot, who led us through a prayer before heading into combat.
See also: pilot, sky
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

sky-pilot

n. a chaplain. The sky-pilot says we can park in the church’s lot, if we don’t mess anything up or make too much noise.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • sky pilot
  • cloud over
  • cloud up
  • red sky at night, shepherd's delight
  • shepherd
  • red sky at night, sailor's delight
  • red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning
  • warning
  • (as) clear as the sky is blue
  • moral compass
References in classic literature
"Why, d'ye know, when I'm playin' an' he's singin', it's a regular duet of what the sky-pilots 'd call religion an' knowin' God.
Michael Brother of Jerry
He had always been irreligious, scoffing good-naturedly at the sky-pilots and their immortality of the soul.
Martin Eden
The engine behind the success of St Barnabas and the formation of the Linthorpe parish, the dynamic Rev JW Dales, died in 1931 aged 80 and 50 years after moving from South Bank, "Daddy'' or the ''sky-pilot'' was greatly mourned even though he had referred to himself as ''Linthorpe's champion beggar''.
St Barnabas would be proud of the church which bears his name; quizmaster
He probably needed twice as much food as any of the other trainee sky-pilots. When the trainees would pick up rumours that an American troop-ship or cargo vessel was coming into Cardiff Docks, they would all get on their bikes, each with a bag of Bibles and hare over to meet the ship's crew.
Why Salmond has a bit of the Richard Nixon problem
And all the drivers round here, from Hounslow to Windsor, are sky-pilots.
Inn-side story of a hotel where silence reigns; Leigh Banks finds a hotel where peace and quiet comes at a premium despite the air and road noise surrounding it
He probably needed twice as much food as any of the other trainee sky-pilots. When the trainees would pick up rumours that an A merican troop-ship or cargo vessel was coming in to Cardiff Docks, they would all get on their bikes, each with a bag of Bibles and hare over to meet the ship's crew.
GREAT THUNDERER HAD GREAT APPETITE FOR WALES