6 January 2021: Well, here we are. A shiny new year just waiting for people to screw it up... or make it a better one than 2020! With a vaccine for the virus now available (to some...at some point!) there is some hope of improvement and for now, we prefer to maintain a cautiously optimistic outlook.
We are starting the new year with what we hope will be of interest - Naval expressions that have crossed over into everyday usage, mostly maintaining (more or less) their original definition (though not too often does someone get flogged with a cat o' nine tails!). See below! This from the Portsmouth (UK) Royal Dockyard News.
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Show your true colours
In the 21st century this idiom means that someone shows their true character or personality, especially when it is unpleasant.
This idiom also has a naval origin, it dates back to the 18th century. Ships had to fly their ‘colours’ in battle - meaning the flag of the country they were from.
Some ships would fly a different flag to trick their opponent into thinking they were an ally, then when they got close would show their true colours and attack.
Aloof
If you say that someone is aloof in the modern age it means that they are cool and distant, not friendly or forthcoming.
However it comes from the Middle Dutch word loef meaning the weather side of a ship. It was used as an order to keep the ship's head to the wind and stay clear of a lee-shore. It may be why it has taken on the meaning ‘at a distance or apart’.
Clear the decks
Now it shouldn’t be any surprise that this saying has navy origins.
It now means: ‘prepare for an event or course of action by dealing with anything that might hinder progress’.
However it originally was used when ships were preparing for battle and sailors would remove objects on the deck of the ship.
Over a barrel
This idiom means that you are in a helpless position or at someone’s mercy.
In the navy sailors were either tied to grating, mast or over the barrel of a deck cannon before they were flogged.
Long shot
This is a phrase I’m sure all of us will have used or heard at one point or another.
It means doing something with little chance of having success.
It comes from the navy, when attempting to fire a cannon beyond its range - with a low chance of hitting the target.
This idiom means that you are in a helpless position or at someone’s mercy.
In the navy sailors were either tied to grating, mast or over the barrel of a deck cannon before they were flogged.
Take the wind out of someone’s sails
This idiom means to frustrate someone by unexpectedly anticipating an action or remark, in the modern age.
It comes from a naval manoeuvre where a ship would intercept the wind of another, causing it to slow or stop.
Learn the ropes
In the modern age this saying means that someone needs to learn or understand the basic details of how to do or perform a job, task, or activity.
It has origins in the nautical world, in the past, the phrase ‘he knows the ropes’ written on a seaman’s discharge meant that he was inexperienced and only familiar with a ship’s principal ropes.
Pipe down
In 2020 if you tell someone to pipe down you are telling them to stop talking or be less noisy.
This is yet another everyday saying with a navy origin.
On a ship, the pipe down was the last signal from the bo'sun’s pipe each day and meant lights out and told sailors to stop chatting.
Feeling groggy
If you are feeling groggy it means you are weak and unable to think clearly or walk correctly, usually because of tiredness or illness.
This phrase also comes from the navy.
Admiral Edward Vernon who served in the West Indies in the 18th century. He was known for wearing grogram jackets to keep warm which led to him being known by the nickname ‘Old Grog’.
He also was known for watering down his crew’s rum - and this drink came to be known as ‘Old Grog’ and then later simply grog.
And if you were feeling groggy it was because you had had too much grog the night before.
Not enough room to swing a cat
This saying means that there isn’t much space in a room.
In the Royal Navy the cat o’ nine tails was a type of whip used to physically punish sailors, which was shortened to cat.
With the saying meaning that there wasn’t enough room to whip someone.
Let the cat out of the bag
To let the cat out of the bag is to reveal a secret either deliberately or inadvertently.
As previously mentioned the cat o’ nine tails was a whip used to punish sailors in the Royal Navy and was kept in a cloth bag.
So if a sailor said anything that got himself or another sailor in trouble the cat would be taken out of the bag to be used for a flogging.
HMS Victory (in deference to origin of this post) at Royal Dockyards, Portsmouth UK
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That will do it for this one, friends. Maybe you learned something to give the new year a positive beginning.
As a matter of interest, MARITIME MAUNDER finished the year with just shy of 117,000 readers! We are impressed!
Until next time,
Fair Winds,
Old Salt
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