suggestion of a threat; while over bearing meant simply to come close.
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
The devil was the name given to a seam between two planks which every so often had to be ‘payed’ or repacked with oakum and pitch to prevent it from leaking. All seams need this routine treatment but the devil seam was the most difficult to do and so called because of it! There remains some conjecture as to which seam it actually was, devil is not a word which has survived and nobody can remember any old hands ever speaking of it. Some believe it lay next to the keel and suggest that the seaman who ‘payed’ it would have to hang from a rope, suspended between the devil and the deep sea. But the more likely explanation is that it was the outside seam of the deck planks next to the scuppers. This would have made it the longest seam and also the most difficult to do due to the spray coming over the side. It also gives more sense to the expression because in bad weather a man knocked over by a sea would be washed into the scuppers to find himself literally between the devil seam and the deep sea. Another expression, the devil to pay , supports this. Originally it ran ‘The devil to pay and no hot pitch’ and refers to the misfortune of either running out of pitch while paying the longest seam, or having it cool too quickly in what must have been a most exposed and draughty position. The word pay is from the French piox meaning pitch.
Betwixt Wind and Water
The waterline area of a sailing ship and the most vulnerable part of the ship during battle. To be hit between wind and water would be to suffer serious damage and it was always the prime target of the opponent’s guns. George Bernard Shaw referred to his rumbling indigestion as ‘a cave of the winds and waters,’ although that is not quite the same thing.
Bilge
Rubbish talk which some wit long ago likened to the residue and cargo sweat which collected in the bilge compartment where the ship’s sides curve around to the bottom.
Bitter End
The name given to the innermost end of the anchor rope, so called because it was secured to a set of ‘bitts’ or large pillars of oak bolted and fixed upright to the deck. In controlled circumstances an anchor rope is allowed to run out a measured amount until the anchor hits the sea bed, whereupon it is checked. However, if the water is a lot deeper than expected or things go wrong, then the rope will keep running unto the bitter end. After that there is nothing left!
Beam ends
Black Books: to be in somebody’s
Refers to the Admiralty Black Book which dates from the 14th century and is preserved in the Public Records Office near London, England. Its full title is Rules for the Office of Lord High Admiral; Ordinances for the Admiralty in Time of War; the Laws of Oleron for the Office of Constable and Marshall; and other Rules and Precedents – so if the librarian looks blank when you ask for the Black Book you can hit him with that lot! It is concerned with ship conduct and discipline and comes very largely from the Laws of Oleron which were the basis for sea conduct in ships throughout most of Europe. The punishments listed sound barbarous today; for repeatedly sleeping on watch the culprit was hung over the side in a basket and given a knife so he had the choice of starving to death or cutting himself into the sea; for murder the guilty one was tied to the corpse and flung overboard; for robbery the man was tarred and feathered and put ashore at the first point of land.
Blazer
In the middle of the 19th century it was the custom in the Navy for captains to buy uniforms for their boat’s crew. Uniforms were not commonplace amongst the lower deck but most captains liked to show off their crews on ceremonial occasions and since the captains were paying for the uniforms out of their own money, so they were given the freedom to choose their own style and colour. The boat’s crew of HMS Harlequin , the records
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
The devil was the name given to a seam between two planks which every so often had to be ‘payed’ or repacked with oakum and pitch to prevent it from leaking. All seams need this routine treatment but the devil seam was the most difficult to do and so called because of it! There remains some conjecture as to which seam it actually was, devil is not a word which has survived and nobody can remember any old hands ever speaking of it. Some believe it lay next to the keel and suggest that the seaman who ‘payed’ it would have to hang from a rope, suspended between the devil and the deep sea. But the more likely explanation is that it was the outside seam of the deck planks next to the scuppers. This would have made it the longest seam and also the most difficult to do due to the spray coming over the side. It also gives more sense to the expression because in bad weather a man knocked over by a sea would be washed into the scuppers to find himself literally between the devil seam and the deep sea. Another expression, the devil to pay , supports this. Originally it ran ‘The devil to pay and no hot pitch’ and refers to the misfortune of either running out of pitch while paying the longest seam, or having it cool too quickly in what must have been a most exposed and draughty position. The word pay is from the French piox meaning pitch.
Betwixt Wind and Water
The waterline area of a sailing ship and the most vulnerable part of the ship during battle. To be hit between wind and water would be to suffer serious damage and it was always the prime target of the opponent’s guns. George Bernard Shaw referred to his rumbling indigestion as ‘a cave of the winds and waters,’ although that is not quite the same thing.
Bilge
Rubbish talk which some wit long ago likened to the residue and cargo sweat which collected in the bilge compartment where the ship’s sides curve around to the bottom.
Bitter End
The name given to the innermost end of the anchor rope, so called because it was secured to a set of ‘bitts’ or large pillars of oak bolted and fixed upright to the deck. In controlled circumstances an anchor rope is allowed to run out a measured amount until the anchor hits the sea bed, whereupon it is checked. However, if the water is a lot deeper than expected or things go wrong, then the rope will keep running unto the bitter end. After that there is nothing left!
Beam ends
Black Books: to be in somebody’s
Refers to the Admiralty Black Book which dates from the 14th century and is preserved in the Public Records Office near London, England. Its full title is Rules for the Office of Lord High Admiral; Ordinances for the Admiralty in Time of War; the Laws of Oleron for the Office of Constable and Marshall; and other Rules and Precedents – so if the librarian looks blank when you ask for the Black Book you can hit him with that lot! It is concerned with ship conduct and discipline and comes very largely from the Laws of Oleron which were the basis for sea conduct in ships throughout most of Europe. The punishments listed sound barbarous today; for repeatedly sleeping on watch the culprit was hung over the side in a basket and given a knife so he had the choice of starving to death or cutting himself into the sea; for murder the guilty one was tied to the corpse and flung overboard; for robbery the man was tarred and feathered and put ashore at the first point of land.
Blazer
In the middle of the 19th century it was the custom in the Navy for captains to buy uniforms for their boat’s crew. Uniforms were not commonplace amongst the lower deck but most captains liked to show off their crews on ceremonial occasions and since the captains were paying for the uniforms out of their own money, so they were given the freedom to choose their own style and colour. The boat’s crew of HMS Harlequin , the records
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