If this has happened to you, we are sorry, that sounds like a horrible work environment. Perhaps you’ve been at work and your boss has scowled at you and said, “toe the line, or you’re gone”. Sailor crew would sometimes be punished for their misgivings and that involved being tied over a cannon barrel and whipped. This saying is used all the time these days to indicate being severely compromised, but it began in the most literal way. We all know when someone has you “over a barrel” things aren’t going well. Parents have been screaming “pipe down” to their kids forever, but where does that actually come from? Apparently, Pipe Down was the last signal from the Bosun’s pipe each day, which meant lights-out, quiet down, time to go to bed.

The ship would fly blue flags and have a blue band painted along her hull when she returned to port. Who knew that came from the world of sailing? explains the popular phrase comes from a custom that was practiced when a ship lost its captain during a voyage. How often do you hear people talking about feeling blue or have the blues? An entire genre of music comes from this phrase. Here’s a list of 10 everyday phrases that you may not have realized were born in the days when sailing made the world go round… wait… is that a nautical phrase?Īccording to this phrase derives from the days when the crew of ocean going ships might be a little less than hygienic, so they needed to present a certificate, carried by a ship, attesting to the presence or absence of infectious diseases among the ship’s crew and at the port from which it has come. Through that time, sailors’ slang and terminology became rooted in the English lexicon and still exists profoundly to this day. From a historical perspective, through its role in travel, trade and war, it was the absolute hinge of western civilization for hundreds of years. WHERE WE STAY WHEN “NO TAN LINES” IS ON THE HARD – GotNoTanLines.When you stop to think about it… sailing is pretty amazing.WE’RE TAKING ON WATER!!! – on How Do You Give Your Dock Neighbors Colon Control Issues? Crash Your Boat RIGHT NEXT TO THEIRS!.How Do You Give Your Dock Neighbors Colon Control Issues? Crash Your Boat RIGHT NEXT TO THEIRS! – on Riding out Tropical Storm Alberto! Whoo hoo!!.THAR HE BLOWS!! Preparing for a Glancing Blow….Anchor + High Winds + Dock Box = CRASH!!!.Next Post Next SHOULD WE FIRE OUR BOTTOM SCRUBBER? And, offers services to authors who are having their books published elsewhere. If you want to publish a book, she’d love to hear from you! Abuzz Press is BookLocker’s hybrid publishing company. It’s free! Her publishing services company,, has published more than 9,000 books over the past 18 years. If you want to write for magazines, websites, businesses, or others, check it out. They all live, work, and play on board full-time.Īngela is the publisher of, a free source of paying markets for freelance writers and photographers. She lived on dirt her entire life before her family gave away almost everything they owned, and moved onto a 52-foot Irwin Center Cockpit Ketch.

We’ll alert you to new posts and we’ll be having book give-aways! 🙂Īngela Hoy is a publisher, a blogger, and the author of 19 books.

NEXT: S HOULD WE FIRE OUR BOTTOM SCRUBBER?ĭon’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter. If you need a cold shower now, I’ll completely understand.Īnd, if you have other terms to add, please share! That concludes our naughty-cal history lesson for today. According to W ikepedia: “ The cat o’ nine tails, commonly shortened to the cat, is a type of multi-tailed whip that originated as an implement for severe physical punishment, notably in the Royal Navy and Army of the United Kingdom…” Three sheets to the wind doesn’t just mean being drunk.Īnd, believe it or not, Cat O’Nine Tails also has nautical origins. Cuntline (I seriously can’t make this stuff up!!).A shot across the bow (think about this one, too…).Pondering the naughty-cal terms below, it’s blatantly obvious that men invented them: In fictional lore, the only women at sea were mermaids, damsels taken captive by pirates or captains (yes, I’m a hard core romance novel addict), and brave women paying passage on vessels…all the while being ogled by the all-male crew. As the night went on, and the cutter cocktails flowed, the terms got even more hilarious!īack in the day, sailing was strictly for men. 🙂Īt a recent Dock Party, we were discussing naughty nautical terms. If you’re just tuning in, CLICK HERE to start at the beginning.

Sailing lingo funny