In the last edition of The KIDS Herald, leading up to St. Maarten Heineken Regatta – an exciting boat-racing event that took place over the weekend – we delved into some phrases tied to sailing. We are including a part-two this week, as there are so many common phrases that you should recognise are tied to sailing – and that’s because they’re so deeply connected to world history.
Here are some more examples:
“Groggy” – Someone is called “groggy” if they appear half-asleep, sick, or disoriented. Origin: “Grog” was the name for a daily ration of watered-down rum for sailors. If someone had too much to drink, they were called “groggy.”
“Take the wind out of their sails” – To discourage or demotivate someone from doing something. Origin: If one ship moved in front of another, it would block the wind (and sails are dependent on wind). This would cause the blocked ship to slow down or stop completely.
“Hitched” – This is a term for getting married. Origin: When a sailor joined two ropes together, this was called being “hitched.”
“Make ends meet” – Making just about enough money to get by/ not having extra money for comforts. Origin: When sailors tied two pieces of rope together to make a longer rope, it was called “making ends meet.”
“Tide over” – This means to make a small amount last, until a larger amount is available. This can refer to money, or supplies. Origin: When there was no wind to propel the sails, boats needed to float with the tide and wait for the wind to return in order to sail forward.
“A clean slate” – This means “to have a fresh start.” You can also “wipe the slate clean” which means to start over or let go of the past. Origin: A slate was a writing tablet, a piece of dark stone that they could etch writing into. You can compare it to a modern-day white-board and marker. It was used to keep track of important information, such as the depth of the water, the wind speed and speed of the ship. At the end of the night shift, when this information was no longer useful and they needed to make room for the next set of data-collection, the new officer on watch would wipe the slate clean.
“Cut and run” – This means to cut your losses and get out of a situation, even if you have to leave something behind. Origin: When needing to escape in the face of danger, a ship’s crew might not have enough time to raise the anchor. So, in such an emergency, they would “cut” the anchor and “run” for safety.
“The bitter end” – This refers to going as far as you can, usually in a difficult situation. Origin: The bitter end is the very last part of the chain or rope that secures the anchor to the ship. To reach the bitter end, means that the chain or rope was extended as far as it could possibly go.
