“A cock-up”
No need to be embarrassed by this expression which refers to the unseamanlike act of leaving the sails on the tall ships not square to the decks, i. e. badly done.
“All above board”
Any activity above the wooden boards of the deck was in the open for everyone to see.
“Burning your boats”
From Roman practice of burning the boats in which they landed. The action cut off all means of retreat.
“Carrying coals the Newcastle”
When Newcastle was the centre of the coal trade in 1650 this first appeared in print.
“Like rats off a sinking ship”
Rats have an uncanny knack of knowing if a ship is sinking and rapidly escape.
“Plain sailing”
Refers to the practice in navigation of assuming the earth is flat if only going a short distance. Originally plane sailing referred to navigating on the plane charts of those who knew the earth was flat.
“Port”
Adopted by the Navy in 1844, the word “port” was taken from the fact that ships traditionally took on cargo over their left sides i.e. the side of the vessel facing the port. This being a holdover from earlier times when the steering-board prevented docking and loading over the right for fear of crushing your steering oar.
“Quarantine”
From the Venetian 14th century practice of only allowing ships with infectious diseases to come ashore after 40 days from the last infection. From the Italian “quaranta” meaning forty.
“Quarters”
The area of a vessel from between 45 degrees on either side of the stern was allocated as officer’s accommodation and was know as their “quarters”.
“Scraping the barrel”
Also came from the cook’s habit of scraping the fat off the sides of the barrel.
“Shanty”
Also chantey, the work songs aboard ship brightened the drudgery of hand hauling and ensure all the men pulled their weight together. Derived from the French chanter. Halyard shanties were brisk for the quick and easy hoisting of sails, and capstan shanties, to haul the anchor, were slow and sentimental.
“Slush fund”
On board ship meat was stored soaked in brine in barrels. The fat congealed on the sides and top and was much in demand for greasing masts and pulleys to make sail hoisting easier and for preserving leather. The cook on the other hand used to secrete the fat into the cook’s slush fund which he sold ashore to candle makers.
“Son of a gun”
This expression comes from when women shared the gun deck accommodation with men aboard ships in port. Since working spaces and gangways had to be kept clear, the best place to give birth was the space between the guns (hammocks were had news for this type of thing). In cases where paternity was uncertain the child was entered in the log as son of a gun.
“Starboard”
Ancient vessels were steered by a long oar called a Steering-board extending over the vessels right side aft. Thus the right became known as the Steering-board side which became shortened to Star-board over time.
“The coast is clear”
Meaning a ship had cleared the coastline. Used by Shakespeare in Henry VI as a reference to visibility.
“To be put through the hoop”
The expression to be known as testing out a person. When sailing ships were preparing for battle, every man’s hammock had to be tightly rolled up and placed along the rails as protection from musket fire and splinters. To ensure they were rolled properly the rolled up hammocks had to pass through a regulation sized hoop. There were severe penalties to be paid by the man whose hammock would not fit through the hoop. Thus to be put through the hoop came as passed an examination.
