Nautical metaphors in English

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section needs to be wikified to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please help improve this article with relevant internal links. (February 2008)

Thanks to the historical importance of seafaring in British culture, the English language is rich in related metaphors from the age of sail. Some examples are:

• Taken aback
• Batten down the hatches
• Clear the decks
• Loaded to the gunwales
• Back and fill
• On one's beam ends
• Awash
• Nail one's colours to the mast
• Flying the flag
• Plain sailing
• With a following wind
• With flying colours
• In the doldrums
• All hands to the pumps
• Take soundings
• Swinging the lead

In older days, one of the crew on the ship had a task of throwing a piece of lead tied to a string in water with the purpose of estimating the depth of the sea. Sailors used to get lazy or bored of doing this and playfully swing the lead bob to ease the time.And hence the term.

Generally used now to imply 'time wasting tactic'

[edit] Further reading

• Milligan, Christopher S.; Smith, David C. (1997). "Language from the Sea: Discovering the Meaning and Origin of Nautical Metaphors". English Quarterly 28 (4).