Which of these is a genuine nautical term?
It is absolutely amazing how many of our phrases in popular use actually come from our sea-going ancestors. Think of abandon ship, ahoy there and all hands on deck. Above board literally means there is nothing hidden; it is on or above the deck and in plain view.
“As the crow flies” is another one. A crow may fly directly to its destination crossing both land and sea, but in contrast a ship must go around the land.
Then there are the other phrases widely believed to be nautical terms that are actually not.
“Between the devil and the deep blue sea” is often assumed to be a sea-related expression, with various theories as to its origins including the punishment of keel hauling, or a devilish deck seam that was difficult to access for caulking. But the term was first recorded in 1637, (Ref.) more than two hundred years before “devil” was used as a nautical term. It probably just means that whether you’re with the devil or at the bottom of the sea you’re in the unfortunate situation of being dead!
The whole nine yards is sometimes thought to relate to the structure of sailing ships but this is another phrase whose origins are actually unknown.
In rough weather we may say we will batten down the hatches, but at sea the hatches were literally closed with wooden battens to keep stormy waters out of the accommodation below.
The bitter end is the part of a rope used to make a knot, but has now come to mean the end of a process.
Grog was a mixture of beer and rum introduced to the Navy in the eighteenth century by Vice Admiral Edward Vernon. His nickname was Old Grog due to his coat of grogram cloth. Grog has now come to mean any alcoholic drink. I love the old folk song;
And it's all for me grog, me jolly, jolly grog
All for me beer and tobacco
Well I spent all me tin on the lassies drinking gin
Across the western ocean I must wander.
There are so many more, by and large, clean bill of health, clean slate, cut and run, cut of his jib, but I’m running out of time. The sun has gone over the yard arm which means it is time for my first grog of the day. In the north Atlantic the sun is over the yard arm by about 11am, and traditionally this is when the first rum of the day would be issued to the crew. It is my duty to keep these sea-faring traditions alive!
What nautical traditions do you respect? Let us know on Facebook!
Image credit: Alan Buchanan Wooden Yawl, Boatshed Essex
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