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Subject: [worldcruising] Everyday Phrases and their Nautical Origins
From: Financiera Maldonado (Uruguay) S.A. (financieramaldonado@XXX.XXX)
Date: Sun Feb 17 2002 - 09:41:10 EST
A good friend of mine, who shortly shall be leaving Argentina and try to sail around the world, posted the following in a local nautical forum, I hope you like it. by the way thanks Daniel for your contribution to our knowledge.
Peter Oliver
Everyday Phrases and their Nautical Origins
Today from A to D
Admiral
An admiral is a senior ranking officer in the US Navy, and the word signifies a commander of a fleet, or part of a fleet, in all maritime nations. From the Arabic word amir meaning prince or leader.
Adrift
Not moored, at the will of the wind and tide. From the middle English drifte (to float). Sailors used the word to describe anything missing or come undone. From this word came drifter, a person without purpose or aim in life.
Ahoy!
This traditional greeting for hailing other vessels was originally a Viking battle cry.
Aye, Aye
Aye is old English for "yes." The seaman's reply "Aye aye, sir," means, "I understand and I will obey."
Bamboozle
From the 17th century, it described the Spanish custom of hoisting false flags to deceive (bamboozle) enemies.
Barge
The word barge has two nautical meanings. First as a term applied to a flag officer's boat or highly decorated vessel used for ceremonial occasions. The second usage refers to the more common, flat-bottomed work boat which is hard to maneuver and difficult to control. Hence the term . . . barge in.
Before the mast
The position of the crew whose living quarters on board were in the forecastle (the section of a ship forward of the foremast). The term is also used more generally to describe seamen as compared with officers, in phrases such as, "he sailed before the mast." Most ships today have cabins for their crew.
Between the Devil and the Deep
The devil was the longest seam of the ship, thought to be the first plank on the outer hull of a wooden vessel from stem to stern. When at sea and the devil had to be caulked, the sailor hung from a rope to do so. He was suspended between the devil and the sea — a very precarious position, especially when the ship was underway.
Bitter End
The end of the anchor line secured to a sturdy post on the deck called a bitt. The line was paid out in order to set the anchor. However, if the water was deeper than anticipated the rope would pay out to the bitter end . . . ooops.
Bluejacket
The first uniform that was ever officially sanctioned for sailors in the Royal Navy was a short blue jacket open in the front. It is now used as a generic name for a Navy enlisted person.
Black Book
From the 1300's - a collection of maritime laws and conduct that became known as the Black Book of the Admiralty. The punishments for offenses was harsh, to say the least. Drowning, starvation, and marooning were punishments for serious offenses such as repeatedly sleeping on watch. As used today, if you're listed in someone's black book, you have offended them in some way. Luckily for you, physical punishments no longer apply.
Blind Eye
In 1801, during the Battle of Copenhagen, Admiral Nelson deliberately held his telescope to his blind eye, in order not to see the flag signal from the commander to stop the bombardment. He won. Turning a blind eye means to ignore intentionally.
Blood Money
Originally known as bounty money, it was the financial reward for sinking an enemy ship. The amount of the reward, however, was not based on the size or importance of the ship but on the number of crew members killed.
Boat
From the Anglo-Saxon bat that meant a small ship or vessel. A generic term for a small, open craft. Many people use the term when, in fact, they mean ship.
Boatswain (pronounced bo'sun)
From the Saxon word swein which meant a boy or servant. It is his/her responsibility to assure that all equipment on deck, i.e. anchor, rigging, sails, etc., functions properly and have suitable spare parts. In spite of the name, the ship's boats are not usually his responsibility.
Boatswain's Pipe
An unusually shaped whistle, it was used in ancient Greece and Rome to keep the stroke of galley slaves. The pipe was used in the Crusades to call English cross bowmen on deck for attack. A variety of tones can be produced, and each order had its own unique call. In time, the pipe came to be used as a badge of office by commanders. The pipe is still used, in the British and some other navies, for saluting visiting officers and other dignitaries.
Booby Hatch
A booby hatch is a small, covered compartment under the deck, toward the bow. Sailors were punished (perhaps by the Black Book) by confinement in the booby hatch. The term has come to mean (politically incorrectly) a mental institution, or to characterize some places I have worked.
Boot Camp
During the Spanish-American War, sailors wore leggings called boots, which came to mean a Navy (or Marine) recruit. These recruits trained in 'boot' camps.
Brightwork
Brightwork originally referred to polished metal objects and now is used to refer to varnished items made of wood, such as trim.
Brought Up Short
A sailing ship underway could only be brought to an emergency standstill by dropping the anchors. Not a pleasant experience. Used today to mean a person brought to an unexpected standstill by a sudden change of fortune or circumstance.
Buccaneer
From the French boucan, or grill, for cooking dried meat. Originally referring to those who hunted and smoked meat, it expanded to include those who ate it (or stole it) as well. Predominantly in the Caribbean in the 1650's, buccaneers differed from pirates in that they did not attack their own nation's ships. Early groups were made up of adventurers of all kinds, excellent seamen all, many of whom made remarkable voyages around the world. Sir Henry Morgan organized them to capture Panama in 1671. The start of the European war in 1689 was the end of the buccaneers, though many went on to become "legit" privateers. Their romanticized legend lives on in the writings of Defoe, Masefield and Stevenson, and in Emily Dickinson's poem 'Bees are Black . . .' in which she refers to bees as "Buccaneers of buzz".
Bumboat
A boat selling supplies or provisions to ships. Derived from the Dutch boomboat, a broad-beamed fishing boat. Or, possibly from bumbay, an old Suffolk word meaning quagmire. This word appeared in England in 1695 referring to scavenging boat regulations. These boats were employed to remove 'filth' from ships and also to carry fruits and vegetables for sale on board. (I didn't make that up!)
By Guess and By God
An early form of navigation, relying upon experience, intuition and faith. Has come to mean inspired guesswork.
By the Boards
Beyond the wooden boards that make up the deck and ship's planking. To throw over the side, or to pass by the side, of a vessel. To come aboard, on the other hand, means to come 'on the boards (deck)' of the vessel. (Still used today, though the wood is in short supply on most new boats.) By the boards has come to express a lost opportunity or to let something pass.
Careen
From the Latin carina (keel) or French carener. Prior to hydraulic lifts, hulls still needed to be cleaned, patched, caulked, etc. Careening is a deliberate heeling to one side in order to accomplish these tasks. Usually was done on a careenage, a steep, sandy shoreline.
Carry On
In the days of sail, the officer of the deck kept a weather eye constantly on the slightest change in the wind so sail could be reefed or added as necessary to ensure the fastest headway. Whenever a good breeze came along, the order to 'carry on' would be given. It meant to hoist every bit of canvas the yards could carry. Today, the term means to continue with your work.
Castaway
A shipwrecked sailor. Not, as often used, a sailor marooned or put ashore as punishment. To cast away was to commit a deliberate act to cause a ship to sink, to be lost or to make it necessary to abandon her.
Cast Off
Letting go the lines to a mooring, wharf, dock, buoy or another ship in order to move away. Shore-side, the term refers to second-hand clothing.
Channel
From the Latin canal, referring to the movement of water, it is the area within a body of water of adequate depth to be used for navigation. As used by bureaucratic land-lubbers, 'the proper channels' do not necessarily assure a pleasant passage.
Chewing the Fat
Literally, eating the seaman's daily ration of tough, salt-cured pork or beef. Long before refrigeration, cured meats were tough but durable and it took a lot of chewing to make them edible. Has come to mean a friendly conversation (or talking too much, depending who's talking).
Clean Bill of Health
A certificate signed by a port authority attesting that no contagious disease existed in the port of departure and none of crew were infected with a disease at the time of sailing. Shore-side, it means in good shape.
Clean Slate
Prior to GPS and onboard computers, courses and distances were recorded on a slate. At the end of each watch these were transcribed into the ship's log and the slate wiped clean for the next watch. Has come to mean starting anew.
Close Quarters
A small wooden fortress or barricade erected on the deck of a merchant ship when attacks by privateers were expected. Small openings, called loopholes, allowed the sailors to fire small weapons to protect the ship (and themselves, one would assume). Land-side, close quarters has come to mean in close contact or a small area. Loophole, from the French louvre (window), has come to mean a gap in the law.
Colors, True Colors, False Colors, Flying Colors
The flag flown by a vessel indicating its nationality was referred to as her colors. Long before radios, you can imagine how important this might have been, especially when engaged in battle. False colors were sometimes flown to avoid capture or to approach unsuspiciously (see bamboozle above). This was frowned upon in International Law, wherein it is accepted as a 'ruse of war' only if the ship is in immediate danger.
Coxswain (pronounced cocks'n)
A coxswain was the helmsman of a ship's boat. Originally, small boats carried on ships were known as cockboats or 'cocks', from whence the term derived. With the passing of time the coxswain became the helmsman of any boat, regardless of size.
Cranky
Possibly from the Dutch krengd, a crank was an unstable sailing vessel. Due to a faulty design, the imbalance of her cargo, or a lack of ballast, a crank would heel too far to the wind. Has come to mean irritable.
Crossing the Line
An ceremony performed onboard when passengers and/or crew cross the equator for the first time. A special initiation ceremony in which King Neptune and various other mythological characters participate. Owes its origin to ancient pagan rites.
Bluejackets (see above) treasure the certificate which testifies that "in Latitude 00-00 and Longitude xx-xx," and usually addressed to all Mermaids, Sea Serpents, Whales, Sharks, Porpoises, Dolphins, Skates, Eels, Suckers, Lobsters, Crabs, Pollywogs and other living things of the sea," __(name)__ has been found worthy to be numbered as one of our trust shellback, has been gathered to our fold and duly initiated into the solemn mysteries of the ancient order of the deep."
Cup of Joe
Navy lore: Josephus Daniels (18 May 1862-15 January 1948) was appointed Secretary of the Navy by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913. Among his reforms of the Navy were inaugurating the practice of making 100 Sailors from the Fleet eligible for entrance into the Naval Academy, the introduction of women into the service, and the abolishment of the officers' wine mess. From that time on, the strongest drink aboard Navy ships could only be coffee and over the years, a cup of coffee became known as "a cup of Joe".
Cut and Run
Most often thought to mean the cutting of an anchor line in an effort to make a quick getaway. Hard to imagine that many ship's masters enjoyed routinely losing an anchor or two, so 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.
Cut of His Jib
The term originated in the 18th century, when sailing navies could determine the nationality of a sailing vessel by the shape of their jib, long before her colors could be seen. (A jib is a triangular sail in the front of the boat.) Shore-side meaning is to judge a person by outward appearance.
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