Thanks to Sophia, I now have a book copy of Master and Commander in hand! I’m back at it. I love all the sea jargon; you can’t go five words without tripping over a “jib,” “bowsprit,” or “fo’c’sle.” I’ve turned to my Glossary of Nautical Terms at the back of my Norton Critical Edition of Moby Dick more than a few times, now.
abaft—Toward the stern of the vessel. (Anything behind another thing is called abaft it.)
avast—(Yes, as in, “Avast! Me hearties!) An order to stop hauling or heaving, or to stop doing anything.
belay—To make a rope fast by taking a turn with it over a belaying-pin.
bowsprit—A large spear projecting over the bows.
chocks—Wooden supports for the bottom of a boat to rest on while not in use.
forecastle (fo’c’sle)—The compartmnent where the sailors live in the bows of a ship.
gunwale—The gunwale (pronounced gun’l) of a boat is a piece of timber going round the upper sheer-strake as a binder for its top-work. Of course.
hawser—A large rope used for towing.
jib—A large, triangular sail, set on a stay, forward.
midships—The middle part of the vessel, either with regard to her length or breadth.
poop—The aftermost and highest part of a large ship’s hull. Stop it.
scuppers—The gutter of a ship’s decks; the waterways.
taffrail—The upper part of a ship’s stern, a curved railing, the ends of which unite to the quarter-pieces.
waist—The deck between the main deck and the forecastle.
yaw—The motion of a vessel when she goes off from her course.
How many of these words can you slip into conversations at home, at work, at a cocktail party? Go to it!
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7 comments:
If we're chock full of poop about the waist, does that count?
My folks love going on cruises, and I have been on a few with them. My favorite pastime onboard is walking around the ship, inspecting all of the unique equiptment, admiring the engineering, listening to the motors and generally gazing off into the distance. Of course, being familiar with the glossary that you have provided would be very handy at theses spiritual cruise ship moments, as I could say to myself, "The midships are brimming with foul vacationers, I must head abast."
Cook, I happen to know the diaper days in your household are over. Is there a problem with the dog today?
Sophia, I was lucky enough to be on one cruise in my lifetime so far (as you know) and loved walking around the deck by myself early one morning and watching the crew pull us in to dock. The rest of the time I played a strategic game of keeping myself between my two girls and any railing nearby.
I would respond to your challenge except that I am totally abaft in everything I have to get done today and I'm utterly pooped. All my plans to shrink my waist and reduce the dimensions of my midships have been permanently scuppered. My life is on the yaw and all I seem to say all day is "Avast! Me Children! or I'll belay you with a hawser from the bowsprit and then I'll send you to your forecastles.
Well done!
Thanks for the definitions. We are starting Treasure Island in our house and I have a feeling these will do us some good.
MD
well blow me down insomniac - yawr got way with words.
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