margin of safety, available amount of freedom or room to move or act Weatherward or windward is the side of the ship toward the wind. …
View More Nautical Term/Phrase Wednesday: LeewayCategory: Nautical Terms and Phrases
Nautical Phrase/Term Wednesday: Garbled
From ye ol’ source… to be distorted or mixed up Garbling was the prohibited practice of mixing rubbish with the cargo.
View More Nautical Phrase/Term Wednesday: GarbledNautical Phrase/Term Wednesday: Freeze the B@!!$ Off A Brass Monkey
A special one for Kevin Z’s time aboard a tall ship… On ships, cannon balls were sometimes stacked in what was called a monkey, usually…
View More Nautical Phrase/Term Wednesday: Freeze the B@!!$ Off A Brass MonkeyWednesday Nautical Phrase/Term: Stern Lecture
to be reprimanded The quarterdeck at the stern of the ship was officer’s country. A sailor didn’t go there unless he had work to do…
View More Wednesday Nautical Phrase/Term: Stern LectureWednesday Nautical Term/Phrase: Cranky
To be irritable. “Dr. M. is cranky because it is before 10AM and he has not had coffee” From Brian Berlin…“Possibly from the Dutch krengd,…
View More Wednesday Nautical Term/Phrase: CrankyNautical Phrase/Term Wednesday: Mayday
Obviously the distress call for vessels in serious trouble at sea. It was formally accepted in 1948 at an international telecommunications conference. The origins of…
View More Nautical Phrase/Term Wednesday: MaydayNautical Phrase/Term Wednesday: Cup of Joe
From our ol’ friend Navy lore: Josephus Daniels (18 May 1862-15 January 1948) was appointed Secretary of the Navy by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913.…
View More Nautical Phrase/Term Wednesday: Cup of JoeNautical Term/Phrase Wednesday: Deep Six
Meaning: to trash or rid of something Deep six refers to to six fathoms, or with a fathom being six feet, 36 feet. The origins…
View More Nautical Term/Phrase Wednesday: Deep SixWednesday Nautical Phrase or Term: Above the Board
meaning: openly, without trickery From Brian Berlin… A trick, common to warships and pirates alike, both of which had very large crews, was to keep…
View More Wednesday Nautical Phrase or Term: Above the BoardWednesday Nautical Terms and Phrases: Bamboozle
to deceive I knew of the scene in Malcolm X, where Denzel Washington states “Every election year, these politicians are sent up here to pacify…
View More Wednesday Nautical Terms and Phrases: Bamboozle