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| Captain Lord George Graham in his Cabin, 1745, by William Hogarth |
I guess I’m just a word-nerd (which, I suppose, most
writers are) but I love to learn the origins of some of our commonly used terms
and phrases, especially the more colorful ones. In researching for my current
novel-in-progress, I ran across several glossaries of nautical terminology and
was tickled to see how many we’ve transposed into our everyday land-lubbery
speech. Below is a sampling for you to enjoy and to hold you over for a couple
weeks or so as I near the finish line of the first draft of my Young Adult novel, Through the Hour Glass (the first
installment in my series, Time Shadow.)
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| Working Cover of my novel-in-progress, Through the Hourglass |
So, not to cut and run but since the
completion of the all-important first draft is in the offing and I must ensure its
ending is first rate I shall bid you adieu for just a little while
as I focus my attention on it. Thanks for your kind understanding and your interest in
this, my fifty-second blog post, marking my first year anniversary as a
blogger! Woo Hoo!
Between the Devil and the deep blue sea -
The Devil Seam is the curved seam in the deck planking closest to the
side of the ship, next to the scuppers. A sailor slipping on the deck would be
"between the Devil and the deep blue sea". This also relates to the
phrase, Devil to pay since
‘Paying' the Devil is sealing the devil seam. It is a difficult and
unpleasant job (with no resources) because of the shape of the seam (closest to
the hull).
Bitter end - The anchor cable is
tied to the bitts, when the cable is fully paid out, the bitter end has been
reached. The last part of a rope or cable.
Booby - A type of bird that has little fear and therefore is
particularly easy to catch, hence Booby prize.
By and large - "By" means
into the wind, while "large" means with the wind. By and large is used to indicate all possible
situations "the ship handles well both by and large".
Chock-a-block- Rigging blocks that are so tight
against one another they cannot be further tightened.
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| The West Indiaman "Britannia", 1838 by Joseph Walter |
Clean bill of health- A certificate issued
by a port indicating that the ship carries no infectious diseases.
Clean
slate - At the helm, the watch keeper would record details of
speed, distances, headings, etc. on a slate. At the beginning of a new watch
the slate would be wiped clean.
As the crow flies - A direct line
between two points (which might cross land) which is the way crows travel
rather than ships which must go around land.
Cut and run- When wanting to make a quick escape, a
ship might cut lashings to sails or cables for anchors, causing damage to the
rigging, or losing an anchor, but shortening the time needed to make ready by
bypassing the proper procedures.
First rate- The classification for the largest
sailing warships of the 17th through 19th centuries. They had 3 masts, 850+
crew and 100+ guns.
Fly-by-night- A large sail used only for sailing
downwind, requiring little attention.
Footloose - If the foot of a sail is not secured
properly, it is footloose, blowing around in the wind.
Groggy - Drunk from having consumed a lot of grog.
Hand over fist - To climb steadily upwards, from the
motion of a sailor climbing shrouds on a sailing ship (originally "hand
over hand.")
In the offing - In the water visible from on board a
ship, now used to mean something imminent.
Know the ropes - A sailor who 'knows the ropes' is
familiar with the miles of cordage and ropes involved in running a ship.
Leeway - The amount that a ship is blown leeward (away from) the wind.
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| A British Man of War before the Rock of Gibraltar, late 18th cent, by Thomas Whitcombe |
Let the cat out of the bag - To break bad news
(the "cat o' nine tails" being taken out of the bag by the bosun was
bad news, announcing a flogging).
No room to swing a cat - The entire ship's
company was expected to witness floggings, assembled on deck. If it was very
crowded, the bosun might not have room to swing the 'cat o' nine tails' (the
whip).
Over the barrel - Adult sailors were
flogged on the back or shoulders while tied to a grating, but boys were beaten
instead on the posterior (often bared), with a cane or cat, while bending,
often tied down, over the barrel of a gun, known as (kissing) the gunner's
daughter.
Overwhelmed - Capsized or foundered.
Pipe down - A signal on the bosun's pipe to signal the
end of the day, requiring lights (and smoking pipes) to be extinguished and
silence from the crew
Pooped - 1. Swamped by a high, following sea. 2. Exhausted.
(Poop deck - A high deck on the aft superstructure of a ship from French
for stern: la poupe.)
Rummage sale - A sale of damaged cargo (from French
for stowage: arrimage).
Shakes - Pieces of barrels or casks broken down to
save space. They are worth very little, leading to the phrase No great
shakes.
Skyscraper - A small, triangular sail, above the
skysail. Used in light winds on a few ships.
Slush fund - The money obtained by the cook
selling slush ashore. Used for the benefit of the crew (or the cook). Slush - Greasy substance
obtained by boiling or scraping the fat from empty salted meat storage barrels,
or the floating fat residue after boiling the crew's meal. In the Royal Navy
the perquisite of the cook who could sell it or exchange it (usually for
alcohol) with other members of the crew. Used for greasing parts of the running
rigging of the ship and therefore valuable to the master and bosun.
Son of a gun - The space between the guns was used
as a semi-private place for trysts with prostitutes and wives, which sometimes
led to pregnancies. Other thoughts on this are that the gun deck afforded the
necessary amount of space for a woman to give birth aboard ship and that
sometimes shooting off a canon would give a woman’s labor a kick start.
Taken aback - An inattentive helmsmen might allow
the dangerous situation to arise where the wind is blowing into the sails
'backwards', causing a sudden (and possibly dangerous) shift in the position of
the sails.
Taking the wind out of his sails - To sail in a way
that steals the wind from another ship. To overbear.
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A Seaman of The Pallas Leaning on a Bowchaser ,
1776 by Gabriel Bray |
Three sheets to the wind - On a three-masted
ship, having the sheets of the three lower courses loose will result in the
ship meandering aimlessly downwind. Also, a sailor who has drunk strong spirits
beyond his capacity.
Touch and go - The bottom of the ship touching the
bottom, but not grounding.
Under the weather - Serving a watch on
the weather side of the ship, exposed to wind and spray.
Wide berth - To leave room between two ships
moored (berthed) to allow space for maneuver (To give a wide berth.)
Have a good (couple) weeks (or so,) dear Reader. (There's lots to read or re-read over the last 52 posts. Probably enough to keep you busy till I return!) Thanks
for stopping by...Y'all come back now!
Kate
(Although my research sent me far and wide, the bulk of
the information for today’s post is thanks to
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Glossary_of_nautical_terms#H)
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