Trivia - Nautical Style

Knot

To determine the speed a vessel was traveling, sailors in the olden days threw a log overboard, with a line attached to it containing knots about 50 feet apart (each knot on the line bears the same proportion to a mile that thirty seconds do to an hour). The number of knots run off from the reel in a half of a minute shows the number of miles the vessel sails in an hour. Since the nautical usage knot is a unit of speed, not of distance and has a built-in meaning of 'per hour', a ship would strictly be said to travel at ten kots, rather than ten knots per hour.

1 knot = 1 nautical mile = 1.15 statute miles = 6,080.26 feet = 1.85 kilometers.

Nitty Gritty

Said to have its origins in the 18th Century, during the period of slave trading. The phrase referenced the debris left at the bottom of a slave ship after a voyage. A visit to the hold was described as 'going to the nitty gritty'.

It is cold enough out there to 'freeze the balls off of a brass monkey'!

"Monkey" has many nautical meanings, but it has often been claimed that the "brass monkey" was a holder or a storage rack on a ship that held shot (cannon balls) stacked. Alledgedly, when the filled "monkey" became very cold, the iron would contract, thus forcing the balls to fall off of the "monkey."

(Paraphrased from the United States Naval History Frequently Asked Questions, http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq107.htm).

...being in the 'lime light'...

Before the era of electric lights, lime was burned in lighthouses to create a strong light.

..."to the bitter end"...

A ship is brought to a bitter when the cable is allowed to run out to that stop. When a chain or rope is paid out to the 'bitter end', no more remains to be let go; hence, the nautical expression describes the end of a cable attached to the 'bit'.

Maidenhead

A 'maidenhead', according to the Place-Names of Berkshire (1911) is a a place where landing from a boat was accomplished very easily.

Letting the cat out of the bag

Letting the cat out of the bag originated on the sea when the cat-o-nine-tails was brought out to flog a person aboard ship.

Bear in mind

"Bear in mind" comes from the nautical term meaning to bring a ship closer to another ship's position, "bear in with me".

Skyscrapers, Moonrakers, Star Gazers

The olden clipper ships sported many sails above their main sail. While most of these sails were only for show, such as the moonrakers and angel's foot stools, the star gazers were only raised when the winds were dead calm and the skyscaper was the highest productive sail on a ship.

Three Sheets to the Wind

As before, the lines used to anchor a sail to a ship are called 'sheets'. On ancient ships, the sails were tied down on four corners, thus having four sheets.

When sailors were drunken, they would refer to how drunk they were by referencing the number of sheets to the wind.

One sheet to the wind: drunk, but functional.

Two sheets to the wind: barely able to hold one's own.

Three sheets to the wind: trashed.

Four sheets to the wind: unconscious.

 

Before the Mast

The section of a ship forward of the foremast is called the forecastle. Before the mast literally refers to the crew's living quarters positioned in the forecastle... before the mast. This term is also used to refer to seamen and officers; a seaman is said to sail before the mast when sailing with officers.

Mind Your P's and Q's

Mariners who in the olden days served aboard government vessels, were extended credit by the local taverns until pay day. The tavern keeper maintained each seaman's count on a tally board and kept watch to ensure that no 'Pints' or 'Quarts' had been ommitted or added to each account.

Boot Camp

Sailors during the Spanish-American War wore leggings called 'boots', which later identified them as Navy or Marine recruits who trained at boot camps.

Clean Bill of Health

A clean bill of health was given to a ship at its point of origin when the port was free of infection and epidemics at the time it set sail.

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