Waste-cloths formerly hung about a ship, to conceal the men from the enemy. Shakspeare, who knew everything, makes Pistol bombastically exclaim
"Clap on more sails: pursue, up with your fights."
♦ Close fights, synonymous with close quarters.
·noun ·pl Barriers with loopholes, formerly erected on the deck of a vessel to shelter the men in a ...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
See close-quarters ...
The Sailor's Word-Book