| Blue
Monday |
Sailors
who were guilty of wrongdoings had these charged against them in the Captain's
daily log book. Punishment was administered on Monday - a "Blue
Monday" indeed. Oftentimes the punishment did not fit the crime
and seems overly harsh to us. |
| Let
the Cat out of the Bag |
Today
this expression usually means that you have said something to someone
that you should have kept to yourself. In the days when sails ruled
the oceans such an expression brought fear to even the strongest sailor.
The sailor would have been guilty of a crime that would have brought
out the whip, or "cat-o'-nine-tails," from its bag, and a brutal
whipping would be administered. |
| Carried
Away |
Today
you might get so angry that you get "carried away," or become
out of control. In sailing days, this expression meant that some
piece of rigging had broken and was "carried away." |
| The
Bitter End |
Nowadays
we hold on "to the bitter end." In sailing language, the
"bitts" were vertical wooden beams through which the anchor
cables passed. If all the ship's cables were run out, the small
amount that remained on board was referred to as "the bitter end." |
| Long
Shot |
"Not
by a long shot" had its origins in naval warfare. Cannons employed
in those days had an effective range of less than 50 yards. Thus
anything in excess of this distance was considered "a long shot." |
| Windfall |
Blessed
is the person who comes into a "windfall," or unexpected sum
of money. In sailing ship days, the Royal Navy reserved large tracts
of land in Great Britain that had tall, straight trees for boat construction
and for masts. If one tree blew down, however, the manager of this
land could claim it for his own. A good bit of fortune or "a
windfall" for him. |
| Posh |
This
is a term used today to denote the best accommodations. Aboard the
British P&O vessels that sailed between India and Britain and through
the stifling Red Sea it was advisable to have a cabin that was on the
shaded side of the ship. These were the highly prized cabins and
the ones for which you paid extra. Thus, for the additional fee,
your ticket was stamped "POSH" and meant "Port-Out, Starboard
Home." |
| High
and Dry |
To
be "high and dry" these days probably means that you feel out
of your element. In sailing terms it means pretty much the same
thing. A ship that was beached for repairs was said to be "high
and dry" when the tide went out and allowed workers to repair the
bottom. |
| Aboveboard |
A
person who deals honestly is said to be "aboveboard."
When pirates sailed the seas, they had a rather sneaky practice of keeping
many of their crew below decks. Thus, when a merchant ship loaded
with treasure caught sight of a pirate ship, only a few crew members would
be visible. The pirate vessel could then capture the luckless ship
by employing their below-decks crew. Honest captains kept their
crew "above board."s |
| A-1 |
Nowadays
this expression denotes the very best. Lloyd's of London, the world-famous
insurance firm, adopted this expression to show that its vessels were
A - in superior condition in regard to the ship's hull - and 1 - in the
best condition regarding the gear. |
| Hands
Off |
An
expression that comes to us from the earliest period of sailing vessels.
Sailors were considered a rough group of men, and were not permitted to
have weapons except when in combat. The one exception to this was
a knife that was part of every sailor's kit bag. But should that
sailor draw his knife in anger against another man, British Admiralty
law dealt harshly with him - the man would lose his hand. |
| At
Loggerheads |
Today
this term means a strained relationship between two individuals.
In sailing terms, "the loggerhead" was a tool used to spread
hot pitch (tar) in the seams between the planks of a vessel. It
was a hot and dangerous job, and the sailor's tempers were short.
Fights would break out and - you guessed it - the tool that was used was
the loggerhead. |
