![]() ![]() Upon sighting thin foresails on an alien ship, a captain might not like the cut of his jib and would then have an opportunity to escape.ĭeliver a broadside - the simultaneous firing of the guns and canons on one side of a warship. Hence, it is probably more likely referring to the practice of securing the sails of a square-rigged ship with rope yarns that could easily be cut away when a quick departure was necessary.Ĭut off one's jib - warships often had their foresails or jib sails cut thinly so they could maintain point and not be blown off course. Hard to imagine that many ship's masters enjoyed routinely losing an anchor or two. Before long, 'copper-bottomed' began to be used figuratively to refer to anything sure and trustworthy.Ĭut and run is often thought to mean cutting an anchor line to make a quick getaway. The method successfully protected ships' timbers, increased speed and manoeuvrability, and became widely used. Shipworms, and to reduce infestations by barnacles. The process was first used on ships of the British Navy in 1761 to defend their wooden planking against attack by Teredo worms, a.k.a. This eventually came to mean 'near enough to be able to fight hand to hand.Ĭopper-bottomed - described ships fitted with copper plating on the underside of their hulls. By the mid-18th century, confined defensive spaces became called 'close quarters', i.e. Current usage is similar to batten down the hatches.Ĭlose quarters - In the 17th century, the barriers sailors laid across a ship's deck to provide a haven from the enemy were called close fights. Shore-side, it means in good shape.Ĭlear the deck - One of the things done in preparation for battle. Predictably this led to its current meaning, "crammed so tightly together as to prevent movement".Ĭlean bill of health - A certificate signed by a port authority attesting that no contagious disease existed in the port of departure and none of the crew was infected with an illness at the time of sailing. The phrase describes what occurs the system is raised to its fullest extent – when there is no more rope free, and the blocks jam tightly together. It was sometimes a handy weapon for quarrelling crew members.Ĭhock-a-block - A block and tackle is a pulley system used on sailing ships to hoist the sails. When heated, it was used to seal the pitch in deck seams. Any ship out of sight of land was in an uncertain position and in danger of becoming lost.Īloof means to stand apart or be indifferent, but it came from the Old Dutch word loef, which meant "windward" and was used to describe a ship within a fleet which sailed higher to the wind and was thus drawn apart from the rest of the fleet.Īt loggerheads - An iron ball attached to a long handle was a loggerhead. If something is available and in plain view, it is above board.Īll at sea - This dates to when accurate navigational aids weren't available. These measurements were later transcribed into a book this is how we got the term 'logbook' and the name 'knot' as the unit of speed at sea.Ībove board - Anything on or above the open deck. The rate at which the line was paid out as the ship moved away from the stationary log was measured by counting how long it took between knots n the rope. An early form of measuring a ship's progress was casting a wooden board (the log) overboard with a string attached. The term logbook, for example, has an interesting derivation in itself. Many activities involved in life on the ocean have seeded the growth of nautical terms that have subsequently found their way into our day-to-day vocabulary in the form of idioms, phrases, and slang. This article describes the meanings and origins of various terms, idioms, and phrases whose origins can be traced back to sailors and seafarers of old. When we delve into this world of words, we discover fascinating and enticing stories full of tradition, history, and valuable advice gleaned from the life experiences of those who helped create them.įor instance, terms sourced from a life at sea are as diverse and abundant as the sailors who contributed to their creation.ĭo you know that "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey" comes from brass ship's fittings and that POSH means "Port out, starboard Home", but neither of these is correct? Many phrases that have been adopted into everyday use originate from seafaring – particularly from the days of sail. However, we rarely consider the sources and origins of the many expressions that litter our conversations. We often try to choose our words very carefully. ![]()
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