Nautical Terms and Phrases
Before the mast
Literally, the position of the crew whose living quarters on board were in the
forecastle (the section of a ship forward of the foremast). The term is also
used more generally to describe seamen as compared with officers, in phrases
such as "he sailed before the mast."
Binnacle List
A ship's sick-list. A binnacle was the stand on which the ship's compass was
mounted. In the eighteenth century and probably before, a list was given to the
officer or mate of the watch, containing the names of men unable to report for
duty. The list was kept at the binnacle.
Boot camp
During the Spanish-American War, Sailors wore leggings called boots, which came
to mean a Navy (or Marine) recruit. These recruits trained in "boot"
camps.
Bravo Zulu
This is a naval signal, conveyed by flaghoist or voice
radio, meaning "well done"; it has also passed into the spoken and
written vocabulary. It can be combined with the "negative" signal,
spoken or written NEGAT, to say "NEGAT Bravo Zulu," or "not well
done."
There are some "myths and legends" attached to this signal. The one
most frequently heard has Admiral Halsey sending it to ships of Task Force 38
during World War II. He could not have done this, since the signal did not exist
at that time.
"Bravo Zulu" actually comes from the Allied Naval Signal Book (ACP 175
series), an international naval signal code adopted after the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO) was created in 1949. Until then, each navy had used
its own signal code and operational manuals. World War II experience had shown
that it was difficult, or even impossible, for ships of different navies to
operate together unless they could readily communicate, and ACP 175 was designed
to remedy this.
In the U.S. Navy signal code, used before ACP 175, "well done" was
signaled as TVG, or "Tare Victor George" in the U.S. phonetic alphabet
of that time. ACP 175 was organized in the general manner of other signal books,
that is, starting with 1-flag signals, then 2-flag and so on. The 2-flag signals
were organized by general subject, starting with AA, AB, AC, ... AZ, BA, BB, BC,
... BZ, and so on. The B- signals were called "Administrative"
signals, and dealt with miscellaneous matters of administration and
housekeeping. The last signal on the "Administrative" page was BZ,
standing for "well done."
At that time BZ was not rendered as "Bravo Zulu," but in each navy's
particular phonetic alphabet. In the U.S. Navy, BZ was spoken as "Baker
Zebra." In the meanwhile, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
had adopted English as the international air traffic control language. They
developed a phonetic alphabet for international aviation use, designed to be as
"pronounceable" as possible by flyers and traffic controllers speaking
many different languages. This was the "Alfa, Bravo, Charlie,
Delta..." alphabet used today. The Navy adopted this ICAO alphabet in March
1956. It was then that "Baker Zebra" finally became "Bravo
Zulu."
Brass Monkey
The word "monkey" is of uncertain origin;
its first known usage was in 1498 when it was used in the literary work Reynard
the Fox as the name of the son of Martin the Ape. "Monkey" has
numerous nautical meanings, such as a small coastal trading vessel, single
masted with a square sail of the 16th and 17th centuries; a small wooden cask in
which grog was carried after issue from a grog-tub to the seamen's messes in the
Royal Navy; a type of marine steam reciprocating engine where two engines were
used together in tandem on the same propeller shaft; and a sailor whose job
involved climbing and moving swiftly (usage dating to 1858). A "monkey
boat" was a narrow vessel used on canals (usage dating to 1858); a
"monkey gaff" is a small gaff on large merchant vessels; a
"monkey jacket" is a close fitting jacket worn by sailors;
"monkey spars" are small masts and yards on vessels used for the
"instruction and exercise of boys;" and a "monkey pump" is a
straw used to suck the liquid from a small hole in a cask; a "monkey
block" was used in the rigging of sailing ships; "monkey island"
is a ship's upper bridge; "monkey drill" was calisthenics by naval
personnel (usage dating to 1895); and "monkey march" is close order
march by US Marine Corps personnel (usage dating to 1952). [Sources: Cassidy,
Frederick G. and Joan Houston Hall eds. Dictionary of American Regional
English. vol.3 (Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1996): 642; Wilfred
Granville. A Dictionary of Sailors' Slang (London: Andre Deutch, 1962):
77; Peter Kemp ed. Oxford Companion to Ships & the Sea. (New York:
Oxford University; Press, 1976): 556; The Oxford English Dictionary. New
York: Oxford University Press, 1933; J.E. Lighter ed. Random House Historical
Dictionary of American Slang. (New York: Random House, 1994): 580.; and Eric
Partridge A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. 8th ed. (New
York: Macmillan Publishing Company): 917.]
"Monkey" has also been used within an ordnance context. A
"monkey" was a kind of gun or cannon (usage dating to 1650).
"Monkey tail" was a short hand spike, a lever for aiming a carronade
[short-sight iron cannon]. A "powder monkey" was a boy who carried gun
powder from the magazine to cannons and performed other ordnance duties on a
warship (usage dating to 1682). [Source: The Oxford English Dictionary.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1933.]
The first recorded use of the term "brass monkey" appears to dates to
1857 when it was used in an apparently vulgar context by C.A. Abbey in his book Before
the Mast, where on page 108 it says "It would freeze the tail off a
brass monkey." [Source: Lighter, J.E. ed. Random House Historical
Dictionary of American Slang. (New York: Random House, 1994): 262.]
It has often been claimed that the "brass monkey" was a holder or
storage rack in which cannon balls (or shot) were stacked on a ship. Supposedly
when the "monkey" with its stack of cannon ball became cold, the
contraction of iron cannon balls led to the balls falling through or off of the
"monkey." This explanation appears to be a legend of the sea without
historical justification. In actuality, ready service shot was kept on the gun
or spar decks in shot racks (also known as shot garlands in the Royal Navy)
which consisted of longitudinal wooden planks with holes bored into them, into
which round shot (cannon balls) were inserted for ready use by the gun crew.
These shot racks or garlands are discussed in: Longridge, C. Nepean. The
Anatomy of Nelson's Ships. (Annapolis MD: Naval Institute Press, 1981): 64.
A top view of shot garlands on the upper deck of a ship-of-the-line is depicted
in The Visual Dictionary of Ships and Sailing. New York: Dorling
Kindersley, 1991): 17.
"Brass monkey" is also the nickname for the Cunard Line's house flag
which depicts a gold lion rampant on a red field.
Brightwork
Brightwork originally referred to polished metal objects, and bright woodwork to
wood which was kept scraped and scrubbed, especially topside. Bright it should
be and work it is.
Charlie Noble
Charlie Noble is an "it," not a "he." A British merchant
service captain, Charles Noble, is said to be responsible for the origin, about
1850, of this nickname for the galley smokestack. It seems that Captain Noble,
discovering that the stack of his ship's galley was made of copper, ordered that
it be kept bright. The ship's crew then started referring to the stack as the
"Charley Noble."
Clean Bill of Health
This widely used term has its origins in the document issued to a ship showing
that the port it sailed from suffered from no epidemic or infection at the time
of departure.
Coxswain
A coxswain or cockswain was at first the swain (boy servant) in charge of the
small cock or cockboat that was kept aboard for the ship's captain and which was
used to row him to and from the ship. The term has been in use in England dating
back to at least 1463. With the passing of time the coxswain became the helmsman
of any boat, regardless of size.
Dogwatch
A dogwatch at sea is the period between 4 and 6 p.m, the first dogwatch, or the
period between 6 and 8 p.m., the second dog watch. The watches aboard ships are:
Noon to 4:00 p.m. Afternoon watch
4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. First dogwatch
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Second dogwatch
8:00 p.m. to midnight 1st night watch
Midnight to 4:00 a.m. Middle watch or mid watch
4:00 to 8:00 a.m. Morning watch
8:00 a.m. to noon Forenoon watch
The dogwatches are only two hours each so the same Sailors aren't always on duty
at the same time each afternoon. Some experts say dogwatch is a corruption of
dodge watch and others associate dogwatch with the fitful sleep of Sailors
called dog sleep, because it is a stressful watch. But no one really knows the
origin of this term, which was in use at least back to 1700.
Down the hatch
Here's a drinking expression that seems to have its origins in sea freight,
where cargoes are lowered into the hatch. First used by seamen, it has only been
traced back to the turn of the century.
Duffle
A name given to a Sailor's personal effects. Also spelled duffel, it referred to
his principal clothing as well as to the seabag in which he carried and stowed
it. The term comes from the Flemish town of Duffel near Antwerp, and denotes a
rough woolen cloth made there.
Dungarees
The modern Sailor's work clothes. The term is not modern, however, but dates to
the 18th century and comes from the Hindi word dungri, for a type of Indian
cotton cloth.
Fathom
Although a fathom is now a nautical unit of length equal to six feet, it was
once defined by an act of Parliament as "the length of a man's arms around
the object of his affections." The word derives from the Old English Faethm,
which means "embracing arms."
Flying Dutchman
One superstition has it that any mariner who sees the ghost ship called the Flying
Dutchman will die within the day. The tale of the Flying Dutchman
trying to round the Cape of Good Hope against strong winds and never succeeding,
then trying to make Cape Horn and failing there too, has been the most famous of
maritime ghost stories for more 300 years. The cursed spectral ship sailing back
and forth on its endless voyage, its ancient white-hair crew crying for help
while hauling at her sail, inspired Samuel Taylor Coleridge to write his classic
"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," to name but one famous literary
work. The real Flying Dutchman is supposed to have set sail in 1660.
Fouled anchor
The fouled (rope- or chain-entwined) anchor so prevalent in our Navy's designs
and insignia is a symbol at least 500 years old that has it origins in the
British traditions adopted by our naval service.
The fouled anchor was adopted as the official seal of Lord High Admiral Charles
Lord Howard of Effingham during the late 1500s. A variation of the seal had been
in use by the Lord High Admiral of Scotland about a century earlier.
The anchor (both with and without the entwined rope) is a traditional heraldic
device used in ancient British coats of arms. As a heraldic device, it is a
stylized representation used merely for its decorative effect.
Holystone
Soft sandstone, often used to scrub the decks of ships. Sailors had to kneel as
if in prayer when scrubbing the decks. Holystone was often called so because it
is full of holes.
Keel hauling
A naval punishment on board ships said to have originated with the Dutch but
adopted by other navies during the 15th and 16th centuries. A rope was rigged
from yardarm to yardarm, passing under the bottom of the ship, and the
unfortunate delinquent secured to it, sometimes with lead or iron weights
attached to his legs. He was hoisted up to one yardarm and then dropped suddenly
into the sea, hauled underneath the ship, and hoisted up to the opposite
yardarm, the punishment being repeated after he had had time to recover his
breath. While he was under water, a "great gun" was fired, "which
is done as well to astonish him so much the more with the thunder of the shot,
as to give warning until all others of the fleet to look out and be wary by his
harms" (from Nathaniel Boteler, A Dialogicall Discourse, 1634). The
U.S. Navy never practiced keel hauling.
Mayday
The distress call for voice radio, for vessels and people in serious trouble at
sea. The term was made official by an international telecommunications
conference in 1948, and is an anglicizing of the French "m'aidez,"
(help me).
Piping
Boatswains have been in charge of the deck force since the days of sail. Setting
sails, heaving lines, and hosting anchors required coordinated team effort and
boatswains used whistle signals to order the coordinated actions. When visitors
were hoisted aboard or over the side, the pipe was used to order "Hoist
Away" or "Avast heaving." In time, piping became a naval honor on
shore as well as at sea.
Port and starboard
Port and starboard are shipboard terms for left and right, respectively.
Confusing those two could cause a ship wreck. In Old England, the starboard was
the steering paddle or rudder, and ships were always steered from the right side
on the back of the vessel. Larboard referred to the left side, the side on which
the ship was loaded. So how did larboard become port? Shouted over the noise of
the wind and the waves, larboard and starboard sounded too much alike. The word
port means the opening in the "left" side of the ship from which cargo
was unloaded. Sailors eventually started using the term to refer to that side of
the ship. Use of the term "port" was officially adopted by the U.S.
Navy by General Order, 18 February 1846.
Radar
An acronym standing for "radio detecting and ranging."
Scuba
An acronym standing for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing
Apparatus."
Scuttlebutt
The cask of drinking water on ships was called a scuttlebutt and since Sailors
exchanged gossip when they gathered at the scuttlebutt for a drink of water,
scuttlebutt became U.S. Navy slang for gossip or rumors. A butt was a wooden
cask which held water or other liquids; to scuttle is to drill a hole, as for
tapping a cask.
Shows his true colors
Early warships often carried flags from many nations on board in order to elude
or deceive the enemy. The rules of civilized warfare called for all ships to
hoist their true national ensigns before firing a shot. Someone who finally
"shows his true colors" is acting like a man-of-war which hailed
another ship flying one flag, but then hoisted their own when they got in firing
range.
Side Boys
Tending the side with side boys, as we know it in modern practice, originated
long time ago. It was customary in the days of sail to hold conferences on the
flagships both when at sea and in open roadstead; also, officers were invited to
dinner on other ships while at sea, weather permitting. Sometimes the sea was
such that visitors were hoisted aboard in boatswain's chairs. Members of the
crew did the hoisting, and it is from the aid they rendered in tending the side
that the custom originated of having a certain number of men always in
attendance. Some have reported the higher the rank, the heavier the individual;
therefore, more side boys.
Smoking lamp
The exact date and origin of the smoking lamp has been lost. However, it
probably came into use during the 16th Century when seamen began smoking on
board vessels. The smoking lamp was a safety measure. It was devised mainly to
keep the fire hazard away from highly combustible woodwork and gunpowder. Most
navies established regulations restricting smoking to certain areas. Usually,
the lamp was located in the forecastle or the area directly surrounding the
galley indicting that smoking was permitted in this area. Even after the
invention of matches in the 1830s, the lamp was an item of convenience to the
smoker. When particularly hazardous operations or work required that smoking be
curtailed, the unlighted lamp relayed the message. "The smoking lamp is
lighted" or "the smoking lamp is out' were the expressions indicating
that smoking was permitted or forbidden.
The smoking lamp has survived only as a figure of speech. When the officer of
the deck says "the smoking lamp is out" before drills, refueling or
taking ammunition, that is the Navy's way of saying "cease smoking."
Sonar
Sound Navigation Ranging. An acronym for underwater
echo-ranging equipment, originally for detecting submarines by small warships.
Suit
Nautical term, dating from at least the early 1600s, meaning the outfit of sails
used by a ship. The term was revived after World War II, when a Navy ship's
complement of electronics could be referred to as its electronics suit, and its
total armament might be called its weapons suit. The word is sometimes
incorrectly spelled "suite."
Tar, Jack Tar
Tar, a slang term for a Sailor, has been in use since at least 1676. The term
"Jack tar" was used by the 1780s. Early Sailors wore overalls and
broad-brimmed hats made of tar-impregnated fabric called tarpaulin cloth. The
hats, and the Sailors who wore them, were called tarpaulins, which may have been
shortened to tars.
Toe the line
The space between each pair of deck planks in a wooden ship was filled with a
packing material called "oakum" and then sealed with a mixture of
pitch and tar. The result, from afar, was a series of parallel lines a half-foot
or so apart, running the length of the deck.
Once a week, as a rule, usually on Sunday, a warship's crew was ordered to fall
in at quarters -- that is, each group of men into which the crew was divided
would line up in formation in a given area of the deck. To insure a neat
alignment of each row, the Sailors were directed to stand with their toes just
touching a particular seam.
Another use for these seams was punitive. The youngsters in a ship, be they
ship's boys or student officers, might be required to stand with their toes just
touching a designated seam for a length of time as punishment for some minor
infraction of discipline, such as talking or fidgeting at the wrong time. A
tough captain might require the miscreant to stand there, not talking to anyone,
in fair weather or foul, for hours at a time. Hopefully, he would learn it was
easier and more pleasant to conduct himself in the required manner rather than
suffer the punishment.
From these two uses of deck seams comes our cautionary word to obstreperous
youngsters to "toe the line."
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