A favorite hedging expression is by and large, meaning “for the most part.” It comes from sailing, where it means to sail a vessel as close as possible to the wind without being hard on it. On land, it indicates something probable but not absolutely definite, as in, “Our broker says that, by and large, the market will improve soon.”

Subscribe Today

• Did you enjoy our article?
• Read more in MHQ magazine
• Subscribe online and save!
 

Another directional nautical term is aloof, derived from the Dutch te loef, for “to the windward.” It meant to sail a ship to windward, hence avoiding a lee shore, and a vessel maintaining a position to the windward of other ships, thus avoiding them, is said to stand aloof. Used figuratively on land, a person who is reserved and keeps at an emotional or physical distance is said to be aloof.

Several nautical expressions refer to a demise of one kind or another. One is Davy Jones’s locker, referring to the bottom of the sea and hence the final resting place of ships that sank, anything swept overboard, or persons buried or lost at sea. No one knows for sure who Davy Jones was, if indeed there was such an individual. Some believe the term alludes to the devil, others to St. David (the patron saint of Wales who is often invoked by Welsh seamen), and still others to the Old Testament prophet Jonah, swallowed by a whale and later spewed up again. On land the expression usually denotes a place of death.

To deep six originally meant to bury a body at sea in at least six fathoms (36 feet) of water. It also meant to drown, or to dispose of or throw away something in deep water. On land, the term has been extended to somewhat more benign meanings, that is, to discard something, for example, the plan for a new building wing that has become unnecessary.

—MHQ

CHRISTINE AMMER is the author of several dozen wordbooks, including The Facts on File Dictionary of Clichés (2006).

Help HistoryNet by bookmarking to