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FA OLD SEA SAYINGS SHEET PrenticeK. Stout P ~r~j Themen of thesailing ship era, whether ornot they knew it andthey probably didn't!, left usa richheritage of sayingsthat give us an insight into the strict disciplineof shipboardlife. Theyalso tell ussomething about their wayof life. Hereare some that we use frequently but very likely don'tknow where they came from. BLUE MONDAY Sailorswho were guilty of wrongdoingshadthese charged againstthem in the Captain'sdaily log book. Punishment wasadministered on. Nonday - a "BlueMonday," indeed. Often- timesthe punishment did not fit thecrime and seems overly harsh to us. LET THE CAT OUT Todaythis expressionusually means that youhave said some- OF THE BAG thingto someonethat youshould have kept to yourself. In thedays when sails ruled the oceans such an expression brought fear to eventhe strongest sailor. Thesailor wouldhave been guilty of a crimethat wouldhave brought out thewhip, or "cat-o'-nine-tails,"from its bag,and a brutalwhipping, would be administered. KNOW THE ROPES If you"know the ropes" today, you are familar with the opera- tion of a specificduty or job. Thenovice seaman of the by- goneera of sail learnedthe namesand uses of all theordinary ropeson the vessel. Whendischarged from a ship after a voyage,the captainmarked his paperswith a simplecomment: "knows the ropes." CARRIED AWAY Todayyou might get so angry that you get "carried away," or becomeout of control, In sailing days,this expressionmeant thatsome piece of rigginghad broken and was "carried away." THE BITTER WiD Nowadayswehold on "t.o the bitter end." In sailinglanguage the "bitts" werevertics.l wooden beams through which the anchor cablespassed. If all theship's cableswere run out, the smallamount that remainedon boardwas referred to as "the bitter end." LONG SHOT "Notby a longshot" had its originsin rravalwarfare. Cannons employedin thosedays had an effective rangeof less than yards. Thus,anything in excessof this distarrcewas considered "a long shot." WINDFALL Blessed is the person who comes into a "windfall," or unexpected sum of money. In sailing ship days, the Royal Navy reserved large tracts of land in Great Bx'itain which had tall, straight trees for boat construction and for masts. If one tree blew down, however, the manager of this land could claim it for his own. A good bit of fortune or "a windfall" for him.

POSH This i,s a term used to day to denote the best accomodations. Aboard the British PRO vessels that sailed between India and Britain and through the stifling Red Sea it was advisable to have a cabin. that was on the shaded side of the ship. These were the highly prized cabins and ones for which you paid extra. Thus, for the additional fee, your ticket was stamped "POSH" and meant "port out starboard home."

HIGH AND DRY To be "high and drv" these days probably means that you feel out of your element. In sailing terms it means pretty much the same thing. A ship that was beached for repairs was said to be "high and dry" when the tide went out and allowed workers to repair her bottom.

ABOVEBOARD A person who deals honestly is said to be "aboveboard." When pirates sailed the seas, they had a rather sneaky practice of keeping many of their cx'ew below decks. Thus, when a merchant ship loaded with treasure caught sight of a pirate ship, only a few crew members wou'd be visible. The pirate vessel could then capture the luckless ship by employing their below decks crew, Honest captains kept their crew "above board."

A-I Nowadays this expression denotes the very best. Lloyd's of London, the world-famous insurance firm, adopted this expression to show that the vessels it insured were A in. superior condition in regard to the ship's hull - and 1 in the best condition regarding the gear.

HANDS OFF An expression that comes to us from the earliest period of sailing vessels. Sailors were considered a rough group of men, and were not permitted to have weapons except when in combat. The one exception to this was a knife that was part of every sailors kit bag. But should that sailor draw his knife in anger against another man, Bx'itish Admiralty law dealt harshly with him the man would lose his hand.

AT LOGGERHEADS Today this term meansa strained relationship between two indivi- duals. In sailing terms, "the loggerhead" was a tool used to spread hot pitch tar! in the seamsbetween the planks of a vessel. It was a hot and dangerous job, and the sailor's tempers were short, Fights would break out, and you guessed it the tool that was used ras the loggerhead.

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