Naval sayings

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- A -

A1:

First class
From the eighteenth century Lloyds insurers graded the quality of a ship’s hull by letter, and the condition of its equipment by number.

Above board:

Honest; legal
Cargo was stowed properly on board (on the decks) so that customs officials could easily check for contraband.

All at sea:

Bewildered
Describes a ship out of sight of land and having lost its bearings.

All sewn up:

Completed; concluded
The bodies of sailors who died or were killed at sea were sewn into bits of sail canvas. Stitching would begin at the feet and end at the head, with the last stitch passing through the sailor’s nose. The bodies went overboard, with cannonballs attached to the canvas ensuring that they sank.

Aloof:

Distant; remote, either physically or emotionally
The order given to a helmsman on a ship sailing close to the shore was to ‘keep aloof’, from the original ‘keep your luff’, meaning to sail as close as possible into the wind blowing towards the shore so as not to risk running aground.

As the crow flies:

Shortest travelling distance between two points
It was a custom to carry crows on board ships. Vessels out of sight of land would release a crow, which would naturally fly towards land, taking the most direct route. Ships would follow the path of the crow, and the lookout platform at the top of the tallest mast became known as the crow’s nest.

At a loose end:

Unoccupied
The original saying was ‘at loose ends’, and described the task of splicing and repairing broken and frayed ropes on board ship, which sailors did when they had no other duties.

At loggerheads:

In dispute; arguing
A loggerhead was a round iron ball at the end of long handle that was used to heat pitch for sealing deck planks. Arguing sailors often used loggerheads as weapons.

- B -

Barge in:

Rudely interrupt
A barge was a flat-bottomed boat worked in a port or on a river. They were difficult to steer and were renowned for banging into other vessels.

Batten down the hatches:

Make secure
In stormy weather deck hatches had wooden covers placed over them, which were secured with nailed-down wooden battens.

Bear down:

Approach rapidly and purposefully; advance towards in a threatening manner
Sail downwind at full speed towards an enemy ship or landmark.

Bear up:

Keep in good spirits, despite difficulties; withstand stress
The action of pushing the helm over to turn the bows of the ship towards the wind, thereby causing huge stress to the vessel. (see also hard up)

Between the devil and the deep blue sea:

A dilemma; a choice between two equally difficult circumstances
The ‘devil’ was the name for the longest seam of the ship, which ran from stem to stern along the length of the beam that supported the gun deck. To seal this seam whilst at sea, a sailor was suspended over the side of the ship in a precarious position literally between the ‘devil’ and the sea. (see also devil to pay)

Bitter end:

To the last, no matter the struggle
The posts on the decks to which anchor cables were attached were known as ‘bitts’. The end of an anchor cable secured to the bitts was the bitter end (as opposed to the anchor end). In bad weather when the anchor dragged, cable was fed out, until the bitter end.

Buoyed up:

Heartened; encouraged; inspired; enthused
The anchor cable was kept off the seabed by a buoy to stop it from getting damaged.

By and Large:

Generally speaking
‘By the wind’ meant going to windward, sailing into the wind. Sailing ‘large’ meant sailing slightly off the line of the wind, therefore reducing the chance of being taken aback.


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- C -

Chewing the fat:

Talking informally; talking at length
In the days before refrigeration, salted beef and pork was a sailor’s staple meat ration. This hard and tough cured meat required prolonged chewing to make it edible.

Chock-a-block:

Full up
Describes two blocks of hauling tackle pulled as tightly together as they could be.

Clean bill of health:

Doctor’s advice that someone is well
A certificate, or Bill of Health, issued to the captain of a ship prior to sailing gave details of infections in the port. A ‘clean bill’ stated that there were no infections. The bill was presented at the next port of call before the ship was allowed to dock.

Clean slate:

Fresh start; start over without prejudice
The watch keeper would record details such as courses, distances, speeds and tacks on slate tablets using chalk. If there were no problems during the watch, the slate was wiped clean ready for the next watch. (see also wash out)

Clean sweep:

Complete change; nowadays also an overwhelming victory
In rough weather, waves washed (swept) over the decks of ships, shifting about anything that wasn’t secured.

Coasting:

Moving or acting using little effort
A ship that coasted was one that sailed close to the shore rather that out to sea. Coasting was far less dangerous, and a lot easier than deep sea sailing.

Copper bottomed:

Solid; trustworthy
Wood-boring molluscs damaged ships' hulls. To overcome this, ship builders first experimented with lead sheathing, and from the mid-eighteenth century attached the more reliable copper sheathing to provide protection.

Cut a fine feather:

Looking good
A ship sailing well would create a bow wave that resembled a white feather.

Cut and run:

Hurry away
This saying may have two origins, both to do with ships at anchor needing to sail in a hurry, the most widely thought being that a captain would order the anchor cable to be cut. Alternatively, it describes the action of cutting ropes that held furled sails enabling the sails to fall and the ship to move off quickly.

Cut of his jib:

Facial appearance (originally recognition by the shape of a person's nose); personality
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the nationality of a ship was determined at a distance by the number and shape of its jib sails, triangular sails at the bow end. Spanish ships either used a small jib or none at all; French vessels often used two small jibs.

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