The Visual encyclopedia of nautical terms under sail by Basil W. Bathe

Author:Basil W. Bathe
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Naval art and science, Dictionaries, Navigation, Seamanship, Art et science navals
ISBN: 0517533170
Publisher: New York : Crown
Published: 1978-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

SAII.OKS’ I.II I; CUSrOMS ANH lOOI S 10.09

Sailors’ Slang

Admiralty sweep. A wide turn ot aship’s boat to come alongside. Anythingoverdone.

Adrift. Late, absent; especially whensupposed to join ship.

All my eye and Betty Martin.

Nonsense; without toundation in tact.

Andrew. Short form of Andrew

MILLER.

Andrew Miller. Seaman’s nicknamefor the Royal Navy, derived from thename ot a notorious press-gang (10.05)otficer.

Awning, Piecrust; particularly whenmade by a member ot a broadside mess.

Belay (it). Shut up. Stop it. Pipe down.Technically, as you were; cancel it.

Bent. Worn in with use; particularlysails.

Between the devil and the deep bluesea. No choice. (The devil was a seamnear the keel.)

Bleed the monkey. To clandestinelyremove spirits trom a cask through ahole, usually by sucking through a strawor pipe.

Blood and guts. Seaman’s nicknametor the Union Jack.

The boats. Destroyers in particular;generally, small ships.

Bristol fashion. Very etficient, neat andseamanlike - ‘shipshape and Bristolfashion’. Derived from the period whenBristol was the main British west-coastport and her shipping was conducted ina businesslike and orderly fashion.

Brothel creepers. White shoes withbrown leather decoration, frowned on asevidence of depraved taste.

Bucko, or bucko mate. Nickname forthe brutal mates employed aboardAmerican merchant ships of the late1800s and early 1900s. Crews wereworked cruelly hard to round CapeHorn in the shortest possible time.

Bum boat. Any local small boatproviding a service, particularlyaccosting a ship with wares.

Bunk with. Share cabin or lodgingsashore.

By and large. All things considered.

By the wind. Broke, penniless.

Cally ho. Callao. Unduly free and easy,especially ship’s routine.

Cape horn fever. Malingerer’s feignedillness in bad weather. The weather offCape Horn was often so bad that afeigned illness was the only way ofkeeping out ot dangerous anduncomfortable conditions.

Cape Stiff. Nickname for Cape Horn.

Carney. Hypocrisy and cant. Said toderive trom a Captain Carney who wasdeceptively mild when ashore butunbearably harsh at sea.

Cheerily. With a good will. Also, acapstan song.

Chippy chap. Nickname for thecarpenter ot a ship or a member of hiscrew.

Chips. Nickname for the ship’scarpenter.

Clewed up. Very knowledgeable;particularly at work.

Colonel. A person who provideshospitality ashore.

Copper bottomed. Very (doubly)safe and sure.

Crab fat. Much used Royal Navy greypaint. From the name ot an ointmentoften used by sailors against crab-lice.

Crimp. Person who would shanghai(10.05) 3 seaman, being paid fordelivering his victim to a short-handedvessel about to sail.

Cross his bows. To annoy someone.

Cumshaw. Backhander, commission,something obtained free. Usedparticularly in the Far East.

Cut of his jib. The (characteristic) wayhe looks (or acts).

Cut and run. To depart hurriedly.

Dab toe. A seaman. (Washes decks inbare feet.)

Dead men. Untidy ropes’ ends over theship’s side.

Deep-sea sailor. One who has sailed theseven seas, rather than on coasting ships.

Devil to pay and no pitch hot. An

apparently insoluble predicament.Derives from the outermost deck seam,the devil, which a sailor had to pay, sealwith pitch.

Dhobie, or dhobey. The act of washingclothes and so on.

Dicky. A diminutive. For instance,dicky run. Short leave ashore in theevening, rather than long leave.

Dingbat. Slang term for a small ropemop used for drying the decks.

Dockyard job. Big or heavy job. A sit-down job in the lavatory.

Doctor. Nickname for the ship’s cook.Derives from the days when the cookwas in charge ot the ship’s medicinechest.

Doggie. Assistant, helper, friend.

Doggo. Not blessed with good looks.Also, to be quiet; lie doggo.

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