Famous Expressions that came from Sailing.....

Salty Dog · Sailing Master Posts: 10060 **191991 Gold** -

I'm starting a new thread that tells where some of the famous expressions we use that came from Sailing and the Age of Sail.

To kick things off, here are two of them:

The Expression "As the Crow Flies"
and the location "Crow's Nest"

Both came from the age of sail. Crows detest large expanses of water and head, as straight as a crow flies, towards the nearest land if released at sea — very useful if you were unsure of the nearest land when sailing in foggy waters before the days of radar. The lookout perch on sailing vessels thus became known as the crow's nest. From this high vantage point, they could track the crow further than from the deck of the ship.

Mr. Blue · Rigger Posts: 1947 **68907 Gold** -

To nail your colors to the mast?
_________________
" ... the mistakes that we male and female mortals make when we have our own way might fairly raise some wonder that we are so fond of it. " George Eliot

Roland · Helmsman Posts: 4085 **22541 Gold** -

Roland · Helmsman Posts: 4085 **22541 Gold** -

To discard something overboard is to "deep six" it. The "six" referred to six fathoms (36 feet), because in shallower water it would be easy to retrieve discarded objects. "Deep six" is derived from the leadsman call of "by the deep six", when casting the sounding lead. Of things thrown overboard, jetsam were jettisoned objects that sank and flotsam were items that remained afloat.

(This comes from SNAFU: Sailor, Airman, and Soldier Slang of World War II.)

theincrediblenick · Powder Monkey Posts: 34 **235 Gold** -

"To the bitter end"

The bitter end is where the anchor cable connects to the ship in the chain locker, so to reach the bitter end you would have to have run out the full length of the anchor chain.

Salty Dog · Sailing Master Posts: 10060 **191991 Gold** -

Salty Dog · Sailing Master Posts: 10060 **191991 Gold** -

Salty Dog · Sailing Master Posts: 10060 **191991 Gold** -

The next term I want to mention is "Toe the Line". Now, this one has many sources according to internet sources. I am using it here because our Captain on the HAL Eurodam said it is thus:

Whenever a Muster was called on board a ship, the sailors lined up on deck with their toes all touching the same line of boards on the deck so they were in a straight line. Their toes were "Toeing the line".

Salty Dog · Sailing Master Posts: 10060 **191991 Gold** -

The term "Windfall" has two common origins. For most people, it means fruit or wood blown down from trees and now easy to pick up.

For sailors, it has a more specific origin. In England, some types of hardwood were very valuable for shipbuilding and there were laws passed that wood from these trees (example - oak) could ONLY be used for building ships and no other purpose. An exception was made if the tree was blown down by the weather. So:

From the golden age of wooden ship building many English landowners were forbidden to sell timber as it was reserved for building ships for the Royal Navy.
If a tree was blown down the landowner could use or sell the timber to whoever he wished.

Pirate · Helmsman Posts: 5589 **109759 Gold** -

I would give one but I dont know the ropes. Smile

Salty Dog · Sailing Master Posts: 10060 **191991 Gold** -

“A clean bill of health”
According to dictionary.com this phrase derives from the days when the crew of ocean going ships might be a little less than hygienic, so they needed to present a certificate, carried by a ship, attesting to the presence or absence of infectious diseases among the ship’s crew and at the port from which it has come.

Salty Dog · Sailing Master Posts: 10060 **191991 Gold** -

“Feeling Blue”
How often do you hear people talking about feeling blue or have the blues? An entire genre of music comes from this phrase. Who knew that came from the world of sailing? See-the-sea.org explains the popular phrase comes from a custom that was practiced when a ship lost its captain during a voyage. The ship would fly blue flags and have a blue band painted along her hull when she returned to port.

Mr. Blue · Rigger Posts: 1947 **68907 Gold** -

Salty Dog · Sailing Master Posts: 10060 **191991 Gold** -

“Pipe down”
Parents have been screaming “pipe down” to their kids forever, but where does that actually come from? Apparently, Pipe Down was the last signal from the Bosun’s pipe each day, which meant lights-out, quiet down, time to go to bed.

Salty Dog · Sailing Master Posts: 10060 **191991 Gold** -

“Over a barrel”
We all know when someone has you “over a barrel” things aren’t going well. This saying is used all the time these days to indicate being severely compromised, but it began in the most literal way. Sailor crew would sometimes be punished for their misgivings and that involved being tied over a cannon barrel and whipped. It’s no wonder that one stuck around. Yikes.