Читать книгу Red Herrings & White Elephants - The Origins of the Phrases We Use Every Day - Albert Jack - Страница 7

To be Taken Aback suggests someone has been taken truly by surprise and stopped in their tracks. ‘Aback’ is the nautical term for sudden wind change, in which the sails flatten against the mast. In some cases, out on the high seas, tall square-rigged ships may not only be slowed down by a sudden wind change, but also driven backwards by strong gusts. The phrase used in such circumstances is ‘taken aback’.

To Have Someone Over A Barrel means that somebody is totally at the mercy of third parties and unable to have any influence over the circumstances surrounding them. In medieval Britain it was standard practice to drape a drowning, or drowned, person face down over a large barrel to try and clear their lungs. As the victim was usually unconscious it was obvious they were totally reliant upon third parties and whatever action they took would determine their fate. Not really an ideal situation to be in for many reasons – especially in the Navy.

The Bitter End is the absolute end. This phrase has its origins at sea and is nothing to do with taste. On the sailing ships of past centuries, the anchor was fixed to the deck by solid bollards made of iron and wood known as ‘bitts’. Coloured rags were tied to the rope near the deck end and once they were revealed crewmates knew the anchor could not be let out much further. The rope between the anchor and rag was known as the bitt end or the bitter end. To be at the ‘bitter end’ meant there was no rope left and the water was too deep to set the anchor.

If something Goes By The Board it means it is cast aside, lost in the events. On the old wooden tall ships the ‘board’ was the side of the boat. Anything falling off a ship and lost forever was regarded as gone past the board, or ‘by the board’. By And Large is a phrase we use as a substitute for ‘broadly speaking’ or dealing with a subject in general terms rather than in a detailed way. The phrase is a nautical one and dates back to day when ships relied on the wind in their sails. Sailing ‘by’ means to steer a ship very close to the line of the wind, and sailing ‘large’ means the wind is on the quarter. This technique made it easier for helmsmen to keep a ship on course during changing winds and in difficult conditions but not in a particularly accurate way, just generally in the right direction. Large ships were assessed on their ability to sail ‘by and large’. The phrase was a standard part of the nautical language by 1669 and in wider use by the turn of the following century.

When you have Had Your Chips your luck has run out and you are close to failing altogether. Often this is thought to relate to gambling casinos and the gaming chips they use as stake money. This certainly does ring true and can illustrate a situation where a desperate gambler, trying to win back his losses, could be told, ‘You have had all your chips now.’ But there is an earlier suggestion. An old naval story indicates workers in a dockyard were allowed to take home off-cuts of timber, known as chips, as a perk of the job. It was not uncommon for some men to fall out of favour with the foreman, perhaps for trying to take too many, and to have this privilege removed. In which cases they were told they had ‘had all their chips’.

To Cut And Run describes pulling rapidly out of a difficult situation and escaping without disadvantage. The phrase was first recorded in 1704 and has a nautical meaning. Hauling a heavy anchor was a difficult task and took many men a considerable time to both free it and raise it back into the sling. Ships coming under attack from the shoreline could suffer considerable damage before the anchor could be dislodged and raised, so it became standard practice to chop the hemp anchor line with an axe and to allow the ship to ‘run on the wind’. By 1861 the phrase to ‘cut and run’ was a standard naval expression.

Dead In The Water means an idea or scheme has no momentum and no chance of success. This is a nautical expression, dating back to the days of the sailing ships. On a windless day, with nothing to propel the vessel, a boat sitting motionless in the sea was known as ‘dead in the water’, going nowhere.

To be At A Loose End describes a time when we would normally be sitting around with nothing to do. We go back to the old tall ships to define this phrase. Any ship using sails would have thousands of ropes making up the rigging. Each of these lengths would need to be bound tight at both ends to prevent them from unravelling, which would be disastrous during a storm. When the ship’s captain found seamen sitting around with nothing to do, he would usually assign them mundane labour such as checking the rigging for loose ends, and re-binding them. Therefore, idle men would find usually themselves ‘at a loose end’.

On The Fiddle has nothing at all to do with the previous saying. Instead it implies someone is involved in something not entirely within the rules, and perhaps gaining more than they should be. This is a nautical saying and associated directly with the square ship plate (see Square Meal). Those square plates had a raised rim (as did the tables), which prevented food falling off in high seas and these rims were called ‘fiddles’. Crew would become suspicious of a fellow sailor with so much food it piled against the rims and they became known as ‘on the fiddle’ (taking or being given more than they should).

First Rate means something is the best available, near perfect or as good as you can get. From the time Henry VIII began organising the English Navy in the 16th century, war ships were rated on a scale of one to six (a grading that lasted more than 300 years). Then, as now, size mattered and the smallest ships were given a sixth rating, while the largest and best armed were regarded as first rate. Therefore, the best ships to command or crew were known as the ‘first rate’ vessels, a term that became synonymous with the best of anything.

To Flog A Dead Horse is to waste time and energy on a situation that will clearly have a negative outcome. Far out to sea, the Horse Latitudes can be found 30 degrees either side of the Equator, where the subsiding dry air and high pressure results in weak winds. According to naval legend, the area was so called because the tall sail ships, relying on strong winds, always slowed considerably or even stalled altogether. Often it took months to pass through the Horse Latitudes, by which time sailors had worked off what was known as the ‘Dead Horse’ – the advance wages they had received when signing on. As seamen were paid by the day, the slow passage was to their benefit and there was no incentive to expend much effort in the Horse Latitudes as they worked off their advance wages. Therefore this period of months in the painfully slow mid-ocean became known as ‘flogging the dead horse’.

When somebody Passes With Flying Colours they have achieved something with distinction, or been successful in a difficult task. The earliest known reference dates back to 1706 and the English Navy, whose term for flag was ‘colours’. Victorious and sailing back into London, fleets would demonstrate their success at battle by keeping the battle flags high on the mast and word would soon spread that the Navy had passed by ‘with its colours flying’, a sure sign of victory.

To feel Groggy means to feel generally run down and unwell, often as the result of drinking too much. In 1740 Admiral Vernon, the commander in chief of the West Indies, replaced the neat rum which was then issued to all sailors twice daily, with a watered-down version. The Admiral was a well-known figure and had the nickname ‘Old Grog’ because of his trademark Grogam coat (a rough mixture of mohair and silk). Thomas Trotter, a sailor on board the Berwick, wrote the following passage in 1781:

A mighty bowl on deck he drew

And filled it to the brink

Such drank the Burford’s gallant crew

And such the gods shall drink

The sacred robe which Vernon wore

Was drenched within the same

And hence his virtues guard our shore

And Grog drives its name

According to The Guardian’s Notes & Queries, Series I, the unhappy sailors of the fleet soon began calling the new watered-down ration ‘Grog’ and as a natural progression drunk sailors were considered ‘groggy’.

Making money Hand Over Fist alludes to the practice of making steady financial gain, and usually pretty quickly. Back in the 18th century the term was originally ‘hand over hand’ and was a nautical term meaning ‘to make fast and steady progress up a rope’. Later modified to ‘hand over fist’, alluding to a flat hand passing over the fist gripping the rope, the phrase widened to describe any steady progress in the forward direction, never backwards, such as a boat race. By the late 19th century the financial markets, where often the largest sums could be made out of industrial shipping, had adopted the expression.

The expression to be Left High And Dry describes being stranded in a situation without support or resource. It’s quite simply a nautical phrase, in use from the early 1800s (around the time of the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805), and used to describe a ship left grounded and vulnerable as the tides goes out. A ship’s captain who had been left ‘high and dry’ could do nothing to resolve his situation until the tide returned and refloated his boat. In the meantime the ship was exposed and vulnerable.

To be Put Through The Hoop means to be punished or chastised for a wrongdoing. This is a nautical phrase related to the ancient marine custom of ‘running the hoop’. The punishment comprised four or more convicted sailors being stripped to the waist, and having their left hands tied to an iron hoop. In the other hand each would hold a length of rope known as a nettle. The bosun would then hit one sailor with a cat o’ nine tales and he in turn would have to hit the man in front of him. Being put ‘through the ordeal of the hoop’ later became shortened to the phrase we know today. Originally, it was a form of horseplay when the ship was in calm waters, but as each blow landed the angry recipient would land a harder blow on the man in turn. As it went on the blows became harder, leading to its effectiveness more as a punishment rather than a game.

Telling a person to Shake A Leg means encouraging them to get on with a task. In recent centuries the phrase was well used in public school dormitories, prisons and other institutions where people sleeping in communal rooms would be ordered out of bed at dawn every day. The origin of the saying dates back to the time when civilian women were first allowed on board a ship. At that time the bosun’s mate would traditionally rouse the sailors with the cry ‘Shake a leg or a purser’s stocking.’ When a stocking-clad female leg appeared the lady was allowed to stay in her bunk until the men were all up and departed. This was an obvious attempt to preserve her modesty while dressing, but it would seem fair to suggest that a lady on board a ship full of 18th-century sailors may not have had much modesty left worth preserving.

When a person Splices The Mainbrace, they are celebrating the successful outcome of an event. The phrase is another dating back to the days of the tall ships that relied upon the wind in their sails. During heavy seas the bosun granted extra rum rations to the sailors who undertook the dangerous duty of climbing the highest rigging, known as the mainbrace. Such sailors were able to celebrate a little more than the others who were given more menial tasks to perform.

Money For Old Rope is simple to explain. In days long gone, when the tall ships returned to their ports, some sailors were allowed to claim old rigging damaged during the voyage. Although of no use to the ships needing long undamaged lines for their sails, parts would still be in good condition and sought after by local traders. Sailors profited by selling it on and, as no effort was required on their part (it was regarded as a perk amongst senior shipmen), some jealousy occurred. The chosen few were criticised for making ‘money out of old rope’. These days estate agents have replaced favoured crewmen.

When it is cold enough to Freeze The Balls Off A Brass Monkey, we really had better wrap up warm. But who ever heard of such a thing? Old nautical records provide the answer. The guns on 18th-century men-of-war ships needed gunpowder to fire them, and this was stored in a different part of the ship for safety reasons. Young boys, usually orphans, who were small enough to slip through tight spaces, carried this powder along tiny passages and galleys. Because of their agility the lads became known as ‘powder monkeys’ and by association the brass trays used to hold the cannonballs became known as the brass monkeys. These trays had 16 cannonball-sized indentations that would form the base of a cannonball pyramid. Brass was used because the balls would not stick to or rust on brass as they did with iron, but the drawback was that brass contracts much faster in cold weather than iron. This meant that on severely cold days the indentations holding the lower level of cannonballs would contract, spilling the pyramid over the deck, hence ‘cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey’.

When something is In The Offing it is considered to be likely to happen, possibly imminently. The origin of this saying can be found on the high seas in the 17th century. ‘Offing’ was nautical slang for ‘offshore’ and a ship approaching a port or coastline, close enough to be seen from land, was considered to be ‘in the offing’.

To Push The Boat Out is used to describe a large celebration or expense. This is obviously a nautical expression and relates to the large parties and celebrations sailors would have before setting out on long voyages. A ‘pushing the boat out’ celebration was always a popular one to attend.

When we look out of the window and it is Raining Cats And Dogs, it is too wet to go out. There are several suggestions for the origin of this phrase, one alluding to a famous occasion when it actually rained frogs. Apparently many were lifted into the air during a howling gale and then dropped to the ground around startled pedestrians. Cockney rhyming slang then substituted ‘cats and dogs’ for ‘frogs’. But I prefer the ancient nautical myth, which led sailors to believe that cats had some sort of influence over storms. According to the Vikings dogs were also a symbol of storms and they always appear in illustrations and descriptions of their own Norse god of storms. (Odin, father of Thor, was the god of thunder and is described as an old bearded man with one eye who wore a cloak and wide-brimmed hat. Many claim he was the inspiration for JRR Tolkien’s character Gandalf in The Lord Of The Rings.) Because of this connection, ancient mariners believed that when it rained it was the cats who caused it, and when the gales appeared they were brought by the dogs, leading to the phrase ‘raining cats and dogs’. The phrase first appeared in literature in 1738 when Jonathan Swift wrote in his book A Complete Collection Of Polite And Ingenious Conversation, ‘I know Sir John will go, though he was sure it would rain cats and dogs.’ In 1653 Richard Broome wrote in his play City Wit, ‘It shall rain dogs and polecats,’ suggesting he too alluded to the old nautical tales.

You Scratch My Back And I’ll Scratch Yours is a saying with its origins in the English Navy. These days we use it to suggest two people will do each other a favour, or look out for each other so that both parties benefit from one another’s actions. During the 17th and 18th centuries the English Navy was traditionally brutal and punishments for disobedience or absenteeism were unimaginably harsh. It was common for a crewmember to be tied to a mast after being sentenced to a dozen lashes, with a ‘cat o’ nine tails’, for minor offences such as being drunk. A ‘cat’ was nine lengths of thin knotted ship rope bound at one end into a handle. These punishments were usually carried out in full view of the crew, by one of the victim’s crewmates. But it was also likely that the crewmate would himself be a victim of the cat o’ nine tails at some stage on a voyage, so would be lenient with his victim by applying only light stokes and merely ‘scratching’ his back. He himself would then receive equally lenient treatment by another shipmate if and when he was on the receiving end.

When you find a person Three Sheets To The Wind they are roaring drunk and capable of very little. There are two suggested origins for this phrase. The first is that a windmill with only three sails (sheets) would rotate badly and wobble like a drunk. But the second is far more likely, especially as, like so many phrases, it has a nautical origin. The sails of a tall ship were controlled by rope (the rigging) and these ropes were – and still are – called ‘sheets’. Two sheets controlled each sail and the story is that if one of the sheets wasn’t properly handled, then the other three (of the two sails) would be ‘to the wind’. The boat would then be blown about from side to side and not under full control, much like a drunk trying to navigate his way home.

Shipshape And Bristol Fashion is used to say that everything is neat, tidy and in good order. In the days before Liverpool became a major English port, Bristol was the premier western port from which most ships would embark on transatlantic voyages. It was also a naval port and prided itself on its reputation for efficiency and neatly packed cargoes. The traditional high standards of ships leaving Bristol lead to the phrase passing into the English language.

To Sling Your Hook is often used as a ‘polite’ instruction for somebody to go away. There are several possibilities for this, some referring to the hooks miners or dockers hung their day clothes on during a shift. But the earliest reference is again a nautical one with the hook being a ship’s anchor and the sling being the cradle it rests in while at sea. To ‘sling the hook’ meant to be upping anchor and leaving harbour.

Son Of A Gun began as a dismissive, contemptuous remark, although now it has developed into a more friendly expression, often implying shock and disbelief. Back on the high seas, in the days when women were allowed to live on board the ships, unexpected pregnancy was a regular occurrence. The area behind the mid-ship gun, and behind a canvas screen, was usually where the infant was born. If paternity was uncertain, and it isn’t hard to imagine this happened more often than not, the child would be entered into the log as the ‘son of a gun’.

Another nautical phrase widely used is Spick And Span. These days it indicates something that is new, clean and tidy. Back in the ancient shipyards a ‘spick’ was a nail or tack (a spike) and a ‘span’ was a wooden chip or shaving. Newly launched ships, with wooden shavings still present and shiny nails, would be regarded as ‘all spick and span’ – brand new.

A Square Meal is used to describe a good, solid dinner. It is a nautical phrase dating back centuries. Old battleships had notoriously poor living conditions and the sailors’ diet was equally bad. Breakfast and lunch would rarely be better than bread and water but the last meal of each day would at least include meat and have some substance. Any significant meal eaten on board a ship would be served on large square wooden trays which sailors carried back to their posts. The trays were square in design to enable them to be stored away both easily and securely, hence the phrase ‘a square meal’.

These days Swing The Lead is a metaphor used to describe somebody who is avoiding work by giving the appearance of toiling, but not actually doing anything. It is a phrase with its origins in naval history. Aboard ship it was the job of a leadsman to calculate the depth of water around a coastline by dropping a lead weight attached to a measuring line at the bow end. As the easiest job on board it was usually given to a sick or injured seaman and many feigned illness in an attempt to secure such light work. The phrase came ashore and is now used to describe anybody making excuses or simply going through the motions.

A Washout is a general failure where no trace of any effort has been made. This expression has its origin in the way the old tall ships passed messages to each other. Naval signals would be read and then chalked on to a slate before being passed to the correct authorities. Once the message had been received, the slate would be washed clean so that no traces of the message would be left other than in the correct hands. This was known as a ‘washout’ and it is easy to see how the phrase spread into wider use on land.

To be Under The Weather means to feel unwell and unable to function properly, and is yet another phrase with its origin out at sea. In days gone by when a sailor was ill he would be sent below decks where he could recover. Under the decks and ‘under the weather’ his condition could begin to improve.

If we are told to Whistle For It the inference is that we are highly unlikely to get the result we want. This is another expression dating back to the early sailing ships circumnavigating the world. The belief among some sailors was that when the day was still, and the sails empty, they could summon the wind by whistling for it. Other sailors disagreed and felt whistling was the Devil’s music and instead of a gentle wind arriving a fierce storm would appear. This also explains the origin of the phrase ‘whistling in the wind’. Often, whistling would bring no change in the weather at all (no surprises there) but it did lead to yet another saying, ‘neither a fair wind nor a storm’, meaning the action altered nothing at all.