Everyday sayings from the Sea

The speaker at our meeting on Thursday 20th July was Peter Swarbrick, who spoke about nautical terms being brought into use as part of the English language. The derivation of the sailors'expressions were explained and how they are often used today. Peter had a great number of examples which he passed on in an entertaining way. Referring to the use by the Bosun's whistle the "Pipe down" command is quoted nowadays as "Shut up". On the deck sailors playing cards at a board which was their meal table had to keep their hands "above board". Nowadays this is an expression meaning "all in order "or "no wrongdoing". Referring to Americans as "Limeys" came from the provision of lime juice to prevent diseases from a poor diet. Interestingly we heard that the Crows' Nest on the mast of a ship did in fact have crows held in them. The crow would be released to show the direction where they wanted to make a landfall. This is the source of the saying "As the crow flies". When using the saying "taken down a peg" this refers to the pennant flown on the ship when an admiral came on board. If a higher ranking admiral came on board his penant would be raised above the exisiting one.