Swears like a sailor

Where did this originate from? We are having a discussion of what it means today. Does it relate to a Navy sailor as we know it or does it refer to pirates?

In the UK the phrase is 'swears like a trooper'. There used to be a common similar phrase 'to billingsgate'. This refered to the strong swearing habits of the porters at Billingsgate fish market in London. Not all swore - my family worked there for years and some were, I hope, not guilty! Never-the-less, all porters were branded as swearers, just like all troopers and sailors.

And, too, sailors earned other stereotype aspects in which they have been characterized as "liberal", such as being liberal in wasting money. "He spends like a sailor" refers, I guess, to sailors on-leave, in port. Swearing and spending (wine, women, song) are ways to compensate for long hours and days or monotonous time aboardship.

"Swears like a trucker" is another common phrase in the US. Means about the same thing as the above list.