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Sayings from the Sea |
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Many of the phrases we use today are used out of their original context and the sea in particular has bequeathed to us many popular phrases which we would not realise as being nautical in origin. Nowadays, if you bring an animal into the country it must first go into quarantine for a period of up to six months. "Quarantine" comes from the Latin for forty and has its origins from the days when sailing ships travelled around the world. When it was realised that travellers spread contagious diseases, the original number of days of isolation imposed on ships was 40 before those aboard could enter port - hence the phrase Quarantine. In days gone by, life at sea was not pleasant, especially in the 18th century when work was hard and punishment even harder. Seamen sometimes got together to fight for better conditions, and one way of getting their grievances settled was to strike the sails of their ships, meaning to lower them. Thus, by "striking", they prevented the ship from leaving port until a settlement was reached. People often take advantage of working conditions, and sailors were no exception. When ships were passing through narrow or shallow waterways, it was vital to know the depth of the water. This was done by dropping a lead weight attached to a thin marked rope to the bottom of the water. Sailors wishing a break would take as long as possible to do this job by swinging the lead to and fro and to this day, someone referred to as "swinging the lead" is regarded as lazy. In the days of the British Empire, there was a steady passage of ships to and from India. Experienced (and rich) travellers on this route booked their cabins "port out, starboard home", "posh" for short, so that in each direction they would be on the cooler side of the ship, sheltered from the sun. For many of these travellers, cabins were so small that they could be described as having "not enough room to swing a cat". However, the "cat referred to was the nine-thonged one, or the "cat o' nine tails", that was used to punish sailors. The punishment always took place on deck, because below there was "not enough room to swing a cat". In the depths of winter, some people describe the weather as being cold enough to "freeze the balls off a brass monkey". Although some think this phrase quite rude, its origins are entirely innocent. Both on land and at sea, a brass monkey was a type of cannon in the 17th century. Cannon balls were stacked in pyramids, but in extremely cold weather they would fall down because the new cannon balls contracted more quickly than the brass trays in which they were stacked. Thus the phrase merely reflects the differing temperatures at which iron and brass freeze. A phrase such as the one above would never be used by a person "minding his P's and Q's". "Minding one's P's and Q's" dates from the 17th century when sailors were given credit in the local waterfront taverns. A slate was kept and the innkeeper marked up how many pints and quarts had been consumed. In order to ensure that too much was not being charged by unscrupulous innkeepers, sailors had to "mind their P's and Q's". A port where many such taverns could be found was Bristol, on the west coast of England. In the 17th century, Bristol led by example in the cleaning and maintenance of ships. Thus the phrase "ship shape and Bristol fashion" became synonymous with a well-prepared, neat, tidy and efficient shipping line. Often, in a no-win situation, we describe ourselves as being "between the devil and the deep blue sea". The devil in this instance is not the ruler of Hell, but the heavy wooden beams which used to be fixed to the sides of ships as supports for the big guns. A sailor had to take up position on these beams, called the gunwhale, and it was obviously not the most popular job on board because one slip and he was in the water. He was literally "between the devil and the deep blue sea." There is no better way to conclude this article than to look at the phrase "to the bitter end". It dates back to the 16th century when "bitts" were the names given to strong posts on the deck of a ship used to secure the anchor and other ropes and cables. When a rope was stretched out to "the bitter end", it meant it could go no further. |
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