https://www.virtualmirage.org/remembering-the-day/
From the Days of Fighting Sail
Naval Slang
Anchor or to get one’s ass to an– to sit down.
Ant’ bollock on the beach – something is extremely hard to locate.
At loose ends – there is little to do. The ends of ropes at sea were easily untangled and formed loose ends. So if there was little to do, the captain could instruct the crew to check the ropes for loose ends and repair them.
Beam ends – When the ship is almost at the beam ends, it means that it is capsizing and in danger of sinking, with the deck beams almost perpendicular to the sea surface. Today it means – to be in a hopeless situation.
Bite the bullet – Men who were flogged with the lovely cat were often given a piece of leather and later a bullet to bite on so they would stop screaming in pain. If he did, he was scornfully called a nightingale.
Boom and Mizzen– Cockney rhyming slang for prison.
Brace of Shakes – I’ll be with you in a brace of shakes, which literally means I’ll be with you before the sail has time to shake twice, in other words, I’ll be with you almost immediately.
Bread hook – finger
Colors tied to the mast – Give up? Forget it! This one will be fought to the bitter end.
Cranky – She’s hard to sail and unstable. The modern version means awkward, eccentric or hard to understand – often used in connection with women.
Deck Cargo – Breasts
(I’m going to) deck (you) – I’ll punch you so hard in the face that you’ll see the deck up close. But since such acts were forbidden at sea, they waited until the opponents were in port and could settle it there.
Donkey Wallopers – Royal Navy slang for members of mounted cavalry regiments.
Don’t spoil the Ship for a ha’porth of tar – To half-finish a job by not filling the planks properly with hot tar when lapping. Ships will leak if too little tar is applied, so a little extra effort is well worth it.
Goose without gravy – a flogging without blood.
Grass combers – seamen with an agricultural background.
Hit the deck – When a swivel gun or cannon was to be fired at close range, sailors would dive onto the deck to avoid being hit.
Zizz – sleep
Steaming covers – Long johns or long underwear. Originated in the early days of steam in the Royal Navy, when spit and polish captains protected the painted lower masts of their ships with canvas covers against blackening from the funnel.
Taut Hand– a good all-round sailor whom everyone respects.
Sprog – a new entry
Scran – Food
Smigget – good looking
Poodle-Faker – A wardroom socialite.
Oggin – the Sea
Muckstick – Musket
Oppo – a Friend
Make one’s number – Report to duty or introduce oneself in a new mess.
Guff – nonsense
Dished up – punished
Mudhook – anchor
Lunchhook – a second anchor
Jack Strop – a trouble maker
Flog the Cat – to complain
Queen Bee– Senior Officer
Don’t plan on signing up with The Royal Navy anytime soon, but thanks for the (mostly useless) info, Mr. C.
The “Master and Commander” movie was excellent, and the subject of the even more excellent books by Patrick O’Brian.
Well worth the read.
Men who were going to undergo “field surgery” were also given bullets to bite on…
“Three sheets to the wind:” Drunk. The “sheets” were the four lines that secured the sails to the yardarms. If one of the sheets came loose the sail would fill and then “luff” (lose its wind.) this would cause the ship to “stagger” like a drunk as it sailed.
“Cold as a brass monkey:” The cannonballs on ships used to be stacked on deck in pyramid fashion for ready use. They were kept in place by a brass frame bolted to the deck. This was called a “brass monkey.” When the weather got too cold the brass monkey would contract to the point where the cannonballs would pop out and roll about the deck. Hence, it was “as cold as a brass monkey.”
The lunch hook is a smaller anchor meant only for a short time, i.e., lunch break.
The bitter end the very last part of a rope.
(To say it is the end of the rope is imprecise since there are at least two, often more, ends.)
One at their bitter end is nearly done in, near nothing left.
The loose ends, called yarns, are served with smaller diameter line to prevent further fraying.
Jack is slang for sailor. Tars, or jacktars, is from sailors making their own foul weather gear by painting tar onto clothing. The gear was also called oilys, from petroleum oil in the tar. The tar is the same for paying the seams between planks.
To tell, or spin, a yarn came from the gabfests when sailors would gather to secure the loose ends and other rope work. Typically this meant putting the twist, or spin, back into the yarns which make the strands which make the rope.
Tall tales or interesting stories would be told while repairing rope. Hence, to spin a yarn.
Here they’d also practice making new knots. They’d also unlay discarded rope to get the yarns to make decorative platting or crochet whether for service to the ship or personal use.