For those of you who know me, you know that I'm a huge word nerd. I find most aspects of language, and how we use it, very interesting. That's probably why I went the route I did in my education. Regardless, have you ever stopped to think about how culture or professional jargon works its way into our everyday verbiage? Why do we say the things we do and where do they come from? I find expressions, idioms, maxims, etc that have roots in our maritime history particularly intriguing. Here's an inexhaustive list of 25 common sayings that we use everyday, which you may or may not know, come from a life of being at sea. Naturally, there are many more. Some may be painfully obvious, but some might surprise you. Enjoy!
Photo Credit: dailystep.com/nautical-idioms-and-their-meanings/
1) To know the ropes - a) to understand something, b) to know what each rope does on a sailing vessel,
2) To show someone the ropes - a) to teach someone something, b) to teach a new sailor which ropes do what and how to tie them,
3) Take the wind out of someone's sails - a) to deflate something/someone or to cause them to lose momentum, b) in the days of sail, no wind in your sails meant no progress forward,
4) A loose cannon - a) someone who is dangerous and/or unpredictable, b) a loose/unsecured cannon can cause a lot of damage on deck while at sea if not properly secured,
5) A shot across the bow - a) a warning, b) captains might fire a shot across another ship's bow to not cause damage but to offer a form of warning,
6) To be left high and dry - a) deserted, abandoned, b) this might describe a ship stranded/beached in shallow water,
7) Pipe down - a) to be quiet, b) this comes from the sound of the boatswain's pipe to command silence,
8) Batten down the hatches - a) prepare for adversity, b) on a ship, they'd close every hatch to prevent water coming in during adverse weather conditions,
9) Three sheets to the wind - a) a term to describe how drunk someone is, b) the sheets are ropes to raise and lower sails and if they were loose, the ship might move uncontrollably like a drunk,
10) To give a wide berth - a) to give someone a lot of room or control, b) ships need a lot of space when they drop anchor to prevent them from moving with the wind and the tide,
11) Above board - a) legitimate b) on a ship, within plain sight or view,
12) The cut of someone's jib - a) to like something/someone, b) jibs were different between countries so they could be used as identification,
13) Taken aback - a) to be shocked or surprised, b) when a ship is pushed backward by violent wind,
14) Hand over fist - a) to earn money quickly, b) describes the hand over hand motion when sailors pull ropes to raise or lower objects,
15) As the crow flies - a) the shortest possible route to something, b) sailors might release a crow to determine where land is as the bird would fly directly there,
16) A long shot - a) something that might take a lot of luck to happen, b) naval artillery was inaccurate at great lengths so a direct hit from distance could be regarded as lucky,
17) All hands on deck - a) to use all ones human resources to accomplish a task, b) to use/assemble the entire crew at once or to do a job or take attendance/roll,
18) Feeling blue - a) to feel sad, b) a blue flag might be raised to identify a ship in mourning,
19) Toe the line - a) to conform, b) barefoot sailors might line up, using a deck plank for a straight line, for inspection or to be addressed as a crew,
20) Keel over - a) to die, b) if the keel were exposed, a ship might turn over causing death,
21) In the doldrums - a) depressed/sad, b) the area around the equator where surface winds are less strong/common and hinder forward movement,
22) Scuttlebutt - a) gossip, b) this barrel held freshwater (equivalent to the modern day workplace water cooler) where people might catch up and chat over a quick drink,
23) Cut and run - a) to make a quick getaway, b) derives from cutting anchor lines to save time to expedite departure,
24) Bitter end - a) the final leg of an unpleasant task, b) the final part of a rope or chain attached the anchor to a ship is called a bitter,
25 ) To show one's true colours - a) to reveal one's true character/personality, b) ships, especially pirate ones, might fly different flags in an attempt to conceal their identity before attacking.
These are 25 of my favourite nautical expressions from the age of sail that we still use in modern language. Do you have any particular favourites that I missed? There are likely many! If so, drop them in the comments below.
Sláinte!
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