Become a pundit... Against the tide All ahead full All hands on deck Backing and filling Batten down the hatches Belay that! Cast a lifeline Close quarters Cut and run Cut of his jib Get underway Give a wide berth Go by the board Hand over fist Hard and fast Heave to! He’s on his beam ends High and dry In for some rough weather In the catbird seat Know the ropes Lower the boom Missed the boat On an even keel On the rocks Over the yardarm Prevailing winds Reverse all engines Righting the ship Sailing on smooth waters Shipshape & Bristol fashion Shake a leg Shot across the bow Son of a gun (child born on gun deck) Stay the course Strike your flag Take the soundings Taken aback Telltail signs Testing the waters The bitter end The cut of your jib They tied the knot Three sheets to the wind Throwing a lifeline Thrown overboard Trim your sails Troubled waters Uncharted waters Walk the plank Weathering the storm Wind out of your sails
Sailing Metaphors & Coloquialisms
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Plus these and more...
above board at loggerheads bear down between the devil and the deep blue sea bitter end booby hatch buoyed up by and large chock-a-block dressing down first rate fly-by-night footloose garbled give way grog groggy in the offing leeway let the cat out of the bag no great shakes no room to swing a cat Over the barrel overbearing overhaul overreach overwhelm pipe down pooped press into service rummage sale skyscraper slush fund square meal start over with a clean slate taking the wind out of his sails the devil to pay toe the line touch and go under the weather windfall
above board at loggerheads bear down between the devil and the deep blue sea bitter end booby hatch buoyed up by and large chock-a-block dressing down first rate fly-by-night footloose garbled give way grog groggy in the offing leeway let the cat out of the bag no great shakes no room to swing a cat Over the barrel overbearing overhaul overreach overwhelm pipe down pooped press into service rummage sale skyscraper slush fund square meal start over with a clean slate taking the wind out of his sails the devil to pay toe the line touch and go under the weather windfall
Isn’t the same thing getting recycled
Isn’t the same thing getting recycled again and again? All the best, Robert Gainer
Isn’t the same thing getting recycled again and again? All the best, Robert Gainer
Recycled indeed
The entries from three weeks ago were edited and collated for republication last week. For some reason, the finished product lasted only a day, so this is a reissue of that list.
The entries from three weeks ago were edited and collated for republication last week. For some reason, the finished product lasted only a day, so this is a reissue of that list.
You can add the word POSH to your list.
In England when sailing south the Elite would have their cabin tickets stamped POSH. Port Outbound, Starboard Home. This was so they had a view of the coastline both coming and going. Frank
In England when sailing south the Elite would have their cabin tickets stamped POSH. Port Outbound, Starboard Home. This was so they had a view of the coastline both coming and going. Frank
Not sightseeing, caguy...
POSH guaranteed the shady side of vessels transiting from England to India and Singapore and back in the days before AC.
POSH guaranteed the shady side of vessels transiting from England to India and Singapore and back in the days before AC.
Heresay Inland Fresh Water Lake Sailor Speak
"You going out?" "Any wind out there?" "Let it out!" "They are Eating Trees" "Get ready to tack" "Yes, Dear" "Don't yell at me!" "Whoa, here we go again" "Do you belong to the Yacht Club?" "Don't worry, we have the right of way" "We have been sailing three years" "This is the year of projects for our boat" "We have too much stuff on our boat" "Our previous boat was a 19 foot run about" "What does that mean?" "The emergency Tiller was at home in the garage" "We tried to get you on the radio" "We would like to take lessons" "It was on sale at West Marine" "I blew a fuse with the hairdryer" "We are going to cash in and sail the islands when we retire" "You can sleep when you are dead" "Did you put the lever to the right on the head?" ( few say stool anymore ) "I would like to have a ( you name it here ) but it would be harder to single hand" "Its whatever works for you"
"You going out?" "Any wind out there?" "Let it out!" "They are Eating Trees" "Get ready to tack" "Yes, Dear" "Don't yell at me!" "Whoa, here we go again" "Do you belong to the Yacht Club?" "Don't worry, we have the right of way" "We have been sailing three years" "This is the year of projects for our boat" "We have too much stuff on our boat" "Our previous boat was a 19 foot run about" "What does that mean?" "The emergency Tiller was at home in the garage" "We tried to get you on the radio" "We would like to take lessons" "It was on sale at West Marine" "I blew a fuse with the hairdryer" "We are going to cash in and sail the islands when we retire" "You can sleep when you are dead" "Did you put the lever to the right on the head?" ( few say stool anymore ) "I would like to have a ( you name it here ) but it would be harder to single hand" "Its whatever works for you"
Eric, you my grandpa and I are all wrong. 
Probably the most popular acronymic etymology is that proposed for posh. There is a widely-held believe that the word is an acronym formed from Port Outward, Starboard Home, which refers to the location of the most expensive accommodations aboard ships traveling between England and India. Such accommodations were said to be more expensive because they were cooler due to receiving less direct sunlight. Some versions of this etymology even include details of the pink labels reading P.O.S.H. which were pasted onto steamer trunks by the Pacific and Orient shipping line. Unfortunately for this story, the P & O line has denied all knowledge of such a practice and the explanation in general has never been substantiated. Instead, it is thought that posh comes from the earlier posh "dandy" (from around 1890), which in some versions was written push. It is most likely to have derived from posh, a Romany word meaning "half". Posh karoon meant "half-a-crown" (a quarter of a gold sovereign) and posh itself meant "halfpenny". From these meanings posh came to mean simply "money" and thence our current usage. Just goes to show you can't trust anyone over 70. Frank
Probably the most popular acronymic etymology is that proposed for posh. There is a widely-held believe that the word is an acronym formed from Port Outward, Starboard Home, which refers to the location of the most expensive accommodations aboard ships traveling between England and India. Such accommodations were said to be more expensive because they were cooler due to receiving less direct sunlight. Some versions of this etymology even include details of the pink labels reading P.O.S.H. which were pasted onto steamer trunks by the Pacific and Orient shipping line. Unfortunately for this story, the P & O line has denied all knowledge of such a practice and the explanation in general has never been substantiated. Instead, it is thought that posh comes from the earlier posh "dandy" (from around 1890), which in some versions was written push. It is most likely to have derived from posh, a Romany word meaning "half". Posh karoon meant "half-a-crown" (a quarter of a gold sovereign) and posh itself meant "halfpenny". From these meanings posh came to mean simply "money" and thence our current usage. Just goes to show you can't trust anyone over 70. Frank
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