I’ve written several columns about the fabled nautical origins of commonly used expressions, and this month I’ve got a few more for you.
By CaptaIn Ray
Published: September, 2012
I’ve written several columns about the fabled nautical origins of commonly used expressions, and this month I’ve got a few more for you. After all, September 19 is Talk Like a Pirate Day! Let’s start with a saying that began right here on San Francisco Bay.
In the latter part of the 19th century, San Francisco’s trade with China was growing. This, coupled with the large number of sailors who abandoned their ships for the gold fields, created a serious shortage of able-bodied seaman. It became a comparatively standard practice to ply sailors ashore with drink (not a difficult endeavor), and when they passed out, load them aboard departing ships. By the time the effects of the drink had been slept off and the sailors awakened, the ship would already be well out to sea. Because of where these ships were headed, the often reluctant crew were said to have been "Shanghaied."
In the same vein, we have another seaman’s expression that has migrated to the world ashore. "Hi, Jack!" was a common greeting prostitutes used with sailors on shore leave. While distracted, the seaman would be attacked from behind and knocked unconscious. When he awoke, he would find himself an unwilling member of a new ship’s crew, having been "hijacked."
Ships are constructed on land, but once the hull is completed and watertight they can be launched into their natural element. But . . . how to move such a large and heavy object? Ships were built on a ramp that sloped down into the water—just before launching, that ramp was liberally coated with tallow to facilitate sliding the vessel into the sea. Hence the term for easing the movement of something (or someone!): "greasing the skids."
When a vessel is moving through the water, it is said to have way on or to be making way. Sideways motion caused by the wind is called leeway, if the boat is moving backward it has sternway, and the forward movement of a ship through the water is called headway. Ashore, progress toward any goal or destination came to be known as "making headway."
Life at sea for months on end would sometimes result in small differences becoming big disagreements. When tempers flared, sailors would use whatever was at hand as a weapon. A ball of iron, about the size of a man’s fist attached to a long handle, was a common tool aboard. The bulbous end was heated and used to melt the pitch for sealing the deck seams. This tool, called a loggerhead, also made an effective weapon in hand-to-hand combat. Hence the expression "to be at loggerheads."
In the days of the tall ships, sailors had to go aloft to set, reef and furl sails. Climbing up the rigging (sometimes to heights of more than 100 feet), with the boat rolling beneath you and the masts creaking and groaning under the press of the wind, was a daunting experience to new hands. With practice (and the urging of the mates below), sailors learned to scramble quickly up the maze of shrouds and stays supporting the masts. Because of the repetitive motion of their hands as they climbed, a rapid assent became known as making progress "hand over fist." This expression has come ashore to mean rapid progress up the ladder of success, especially financially.
Ray Wichmann, is a US SAILING-certified Ocean Passagemaking Instructor, a US SAILING Instructor Trainer, and a member of US SAILING’s National Faculty. He holds a 100-Ton Master’s License, was a charter skipper in Hawai’i for 15 years, and has sailed on both coasts of the United States, in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Greece. He is presently employed as the Master Instructor at OCSC Sailing in the Berkeley Marina.
