Sailor Speak

Encyclopedia Appendix G - Sailor Speak

A
 * Abaft - toward the front of the ship.
 * Abeam - toward the ship's side.
 * Adrift - movement without wind; also said of an absent sailor, in either mind or body.
 * Aft - the rear of the ship.
 * Ahoy - hello.
 * Aloft - a spot in the rigging or simply, up high.
 * Arg or Arr - an exclamation.
 * Avast - a command to stop or desist "Avast heaving that line!" Derived/corrupted from 'hold fast'.
 * Astern - toward the rear of the ship, or her stern.
 * Aye - an affirmation.

B
 * Ballast - stones or other heavy items placed in a ship's bottom to help it maintain a stable upright position.
 * Bamboozle - to deceive another vessel as to your ship's origin or nationality by flying false colors.
 * Batten - to nail something down.
 * Becalmed - the state of a sailing ship when it cannot move because there is no wind.
 * Belay - to fasten something down with line; stop or quit what you’re doing; also used to tell someone to keep their mouth shut. Also used to cancel orders “belay that order!”
 * Belaying Pin - a club shaped pin used to fasten line on the rail of a ship.
 * Bilge - the lowest part of the ship, usually filled with old, putrid water, stinking water; nonsense, foolishness.
 * Bitter - a turn of a line around a bitt. Nub to hold the line in place.
 * Bitter End - the last knot tied around a bitt, thus the "bitter end"; also a sailor willing to finish a job, no matter what the conditions is said to be "faithful to the bitter end".
 * Black Jack - a leather tankard, made stiff with a coating of tar, used by dockside pubs and taverns to serve wine and beer.
 * Black Spot - a black smudge on a piece of paper used as a threat, sometimes accompanied by writing a specific threat.
 * Blow the Man Down - to kill someone.
 * Blunderbuss - a muzzle-loading firearm with a flared, trumpet- like barrel which discharges lead shot upon firing.
 * Bow - another name for the front of the ship.
 * Bowsprit - a small, angled pole at the front of the ship that carries a small sail.
 * Braces - lines used to move the yards.
 * Brethren of the Coast - caribbean buccaneers who made a pact to cease plundering amongst themselves.
 * Bring a Spring Upon Her Cable - to come around in a different direction.
 * Broadside - simultaneous firing of all guns on one side of the ship.
 * Booty - treasure.
 * Bosun or Boatswain - a petty officer on a merchant ship who controlsthe work of other seamen.
 * Bowsprit - pole extending forward from the vessel's prow.
 * Buccaneer - term used for pirate, after the French word "boucanier," which referred to the way the Arawaks smoked meat. Early entrepreneurs who dried the meat from wild cattle and hogs on the island of Hispañola in the early 1600's to sell to ships returning to Europe (primarily Spain). A pirate or unscrupulous adventurer.
 * Bucko - friend.
 * Bullyboy - a term for sailors who chew on jerky, or "bully".

C
 * Cackle Fruit - hen's eggs.
 * Careen - to turn over a ship and clean the barnacles and seaweed from its bottom.
 * Carouser - one who engages in riotous drinking and festivities.
 * Carry On - a command when the winds turns to good to bring up all sails from the hold.
 * Cat o' Nine Tails - a whip with nine lashes used for flogging.
 * Chanty (also Chantey or Shanty) - a song that is sung while working.
 * Chewing the Fat - a color euphemism for eating the cook's cuisine; wasting time.
 * Coffer - a treasure chest.
 * Cooking the Books - when a captain enters a youth into his muster books without the said person actually being aboard, in order to gain sea time. This was not uncommon, despite its being a court martial offence.
 * Corsair - a romantic or flamboyant version of the word privateer, or pirate.
 * Coxswain - a person who steers the ship and usually has charge of the crew.
 * Crack Jenny's Teacup - to spend a night in the house of ill repute.
 * Crimp - person who is tricked into serving on a ship's crew.
 * Cut of His Jib - the jib of a sail is the very front, or "nose" of a ship, a very distinguished feature; thus, judging a man's nationality by the "cut of his jib" is to judge his nationality by the shape of his nose.

D
 * Davy Jones' Locker - the bottom of the sea: oblivion / hell.
 * Dead Men Tell No Tales - reason for leaving no survivors.
 * Deadlights - eyes.
 * Deck - one level of a ship.
 * Doubloon - a gold coin minted by Spain. Worth, about seven week's pay, to an average sailor.
 * Draught - the distance between the bottom of the keel and the water line.

E
 * Eyes of a Ship - the figurehead of a ship, specifically the figurehead's eyes.
 * Execution Dock - the place for pirate hangings.

F
 * Flibustier - French word for pirate.
 * Fire in the Hole - a warning before cannon fire.
 * Fore - towards the ship's bow.
 * Forecastle - (pronounced "fohk-sul") the raised deck nearest the fore of the ship.
 * Foremast - the mast closest to the bow, or front of the ship.
 * Freeboard - the distance between the waterline and the main deck of the ship.

G
 * Gibbet - cage displaying the corpses of pirates in order to discourage piracy.
 * Give No Quarter - show no mercy.
 * Grog - mixture of water, rum, and latterly sour fruit juice, to ward off scurvy.
 * Gunwales - (pronounced "gunnels") rails running along the side of the ship just under the gun ports.
 * Gunwales Under - a call meaning the ship (or a sailor) is in rough sea (trouble).

H
 * Half Shot - almost but not quite drunk.
 * Halyard (Halliiard) - line and tackle used to raise a sail or yard.
 * Hang the Jib - to frown.
 * Hard Tack - ship's biscuit. Also known as "tooth breakers" and "sea biscuits".
 * Hearties - term to refer to fellowship among sailors.
 * Heave To - braking maneuver that slows the ship's pace and fixes its course, allowing the crew to perform other duties.
 * Hempen Halter - hangman's noose.
 * Ho - used to express joy or attract attention (Land ho!).
 * Hogshead - large barrel.
 * Hold - the area of the ship between the bottom of the ship and thelowest deck.
 * Hook - the anchor.
 * Horns Waggle - to cheat.

I
 * I've Been Scuppered - beaten or defeated.

J
 * Jack Ketch - famed English executioner. Became shorthand for deathat the hands of the law.
 * Jack Tar - common name for sailors of the Royal Navy.
 * Jib - at prow (in the modern sense) is the part of the hull that cuts the water, i.e. the bow. It should be a triangular staysail set ahead of the foremast (and usually attached to the bowsprit). It helps track the mainsail into a tack (similar to the front bogies on a train).
 * Jury - a quick and/or temporary repair (thus, to fix the rigging quickly is to "jury-rig").
 * Jolly Roger - pirate flag.

K
 * Keel - a piece of timber running along the entire bottom of the boat.
 * Keelhaul - horrific punishment involving being dragged under the ship, resulting in massive lacerations at best, drowning at worst.
 * Kiss the Gunner's Daughter - punishment consisting of being hoisted over one of the ship's guns, and flogged.

L
 * Larboard - when facing the bow, the left side of the ship.
 * League - equal to the distance of 3 miles.
 * Lee - the side of the ship not facing the wind; when the wind changes the lee-side changes as well.
 * Leeward - downwind from a point of reference.
 * Let the Cat Out of the Bag - A common phrase used by sailors when they got into trouble. When a man got out of line, the most common punishment was flogging, done with the Boatswain's “cat-of-nine-tails”.
 * Letter of Marquis - letter of mandate from a government permittingpirates to freely raid merchant ships of enemy countries, thus earning them the title of "privateer".
 * Lifts - lines used to change the vertical angle of the yards.
 * Loaded to the Gunwales - to be drunk.
 * Look To - a command to pay attention ("Look to port!" or "Look to that knot!").
 * Lubber (or Landlubber) - an insult implying incompetence. A term for an incompetent or inexperienced sailor. Derived from "lob" which describes a clumsy lout. Derisive term for land-dwellers. Royal Navy trainee sailors were referred to as "Landmen", graduating to "Seaman" grade after one year.

M
 * Main Mast - on a three masted ship the center mast.
 * Main Sail - the largest lowest sail on the main mast.
 * Mast - tall pole rising from the deck of the ship and supporting the yards and riggings.
 * Mind your P's and Q's - innkeepers keep track of a sailors credit by writing his name on a chalkboard along with a "P" for every pint he's had and a "Q" for every quart; thus, in order for a sailor not to fall to deeply into debt, he must mind his P's and Q's.
 * Mizzenmast - a mast closest to the stern.

O
 * Oakum - the thick, glue like substance made from lines and used for caulking.
 * Old salt - an experienced sailor.
 * Orlop - the lowest deck above the hold.

P
 * Port - another, more modern term for "larboard".

Q
 * Quarters - rooms where the crew sleep.
 * Quarterdeck - the deck that holds the crew quarters.

R
 * Rail - wooden guard at the edge of the deck.
 * Ratlines - rungs the sailors use to climb the shrouds.
 * Reef the Sails - an order, given when a strong wind picks up, to reduce the sails.
 * Running Rigging - the lines used to manipulatethe sails to increase or decrease speed.

S
 * Sally the Ship - shift a ship that has run aground back and forth to get it loose.
 * Scuppers - channels used to carry water off the deck.
 * Scuttlebutt - cask of fresh water; also used as a term for gossip told around the watering hole.
 * She/He Can Travel - she/he can dance.
 * Sheets - another word for sails.
 * Shrouds - the rigging spread out aft of the masts that stabilizes them from larboard to starboard.
 * Son of a Gun - a compliment given to sailors for their firing skill, implying they must have been born on the gun deck.
 * Splice the Main Brace - a command from the captain giving the crew permission to celebrate.
 * Standing Rigging - immobile lines used to stabilize the masts.
 * Starboard - if facing the bow, the right side of the ship.
 * Stays - the standing rigging that stabilizes a mast fore to aft.
 * Stern - the rear of the ship.
 * Swallow the Anchor - to quit the sailor's life.

T
 * Tack - to sail closer to the direction the wind is blowing from.
 * Three Sheets to the Wind - pulling all three sheets into the wind causes the ship to shudder and shake; being three sheets into the wind is to be so drunk the sailor can't walk straight.
 * Topsail - the second largest sail on the mainmast.
 * Topgallant Sail - the third largest sail on the mainmast.
 * Trim - to adjust the sails when the wind changes.

W
 * Weather (-Side) - the side of the ship the wind is coming from when the wind changes, so does the weather-side of the ship (see lee).
 * Wales - rails running along the side of the ship.
 * Watch - the time of duty aboard the ship; a third of the crew is on active watch all the time.
 * Whistle Up the Wind - to try something impossible.

Y
 * Yard - a pole that crosses the mast, from which a sail is suspended.