Will you explain the obscure “Queeg” reference? I have seen it before and have no idea what it means.
Thanks.
Captain Queeg in the “Caine Mutiny”.
Captain Queeg, "The Caine Mutiny."
From Wikipedia:
"Queeg, a 1936 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and formerly an officer on a destroyer, is assigned as captain of the U.S.S. Caine, a minesweeper stationed in the Pacific during World War II...He is initially welcomed by the crew as a tough, no-nonsense veteran, who will shape up the ship after his slovenly predecessor's departure...
After a honeymoon period, it becomes apparent that Queeg is prone to eccentric behavior. Queeg displays a micro-managing command style and (sometimes unprovoked) angry outbursts. As time passes, he begins to make mistakes that endanger his crew. He neglects to order the ship to stop turning while reprimanding a crew member for having his shirttail out, and so the ship steams over its own towline, parting it. When called on the carpet by a superior after this incident, he refuses to acknowledge it happened, or to admit blame in any way. His superiors are not satisfied, but allow him to retain command...
Another episode which highlights Queeg's behaviors occurs when a quart of strawberries vanish from the wardroom icebox. Remembering how he helped solve a mystery involving a similar theft when he was an ensign earlier in his career, Queeg attempts to recreate his former accomplishment by insisting the strawberries were pilfered by a crewmember with a duplicate key. Queeg orders every key on the ship collected, and a thorough search made. During the search, the captain is confronted with evidence that the messboys ate the strawberries. Queeg loses all enthusiasm for the search, though he orders it to continue, and it is continued in a desultory way amid public mocking of the captain.