-
Dandy
·noun A dandy roller. ·see <<Below>>.
II. Dandy ·noun A sloop or cutter with a jigger on which a lu...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
dandy
That's the dandy; i.e. the ton, the clever thing; an expression of similar import to "That's the bar...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
dandy
A sloop or cutter with a jigger-mast abaft, on which a mizen-lug-sail is set.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
Jack-a-lent
·noun A small stuffed puppet to be pelted in Lent; hence, a simple fellow.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Jack
·noun The wall-eyed pike.
II. Jack ·noun A sawhorse or sawbuck.
III. Jack ·noun A young pike; a pi...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
jack
A farthing, a small bowl serving as the mark for bowlers. An instrument for pulling off boots.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
jack
1) Haifa pint. Yorks.
2) a quarter of a pint.
...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
-
jack
In the British navy the jack is a small union flag, formed by the intersection of St. George's and S...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
Dandy-cock
·noun ·f ·Alt. of Dandy-hen.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Dandy-hen
·noun ·f A bantam fowl.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Handyy-dandy
·noun A child's play, one child guessing in which closed hand the other holds some small object, win...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
dandy prat
An insignificant or trifling fellow.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
jack at a pinch
A poor hackney parson.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
jack in a box
A sharper, or cheat. A child in the mother's womb.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
Jack in a Box
i.q. Hair-trigger (q.v.).
1854. `The Home Companion,' p. 554:
«When previously mentioning the eleg...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
A
A, a, indecl. n. (sometimes joined with littera), the first letter of the Latin alphabet, correspond...
A New Latin Dictionary by Charlton T. Lewis Ph.D. and Charles Short, LL. D.
-
a
a, prep.=ab, v. ab.
...
A New Latin Dictionary by Charlton T. Lewis Ph.D. and Charles Short, LL. D.
-
A
A. a. as an abbreviation, 1 for the praenomen Aulus.
2 for Absolvo, on the voting-tablet of a jud...
An Elementary Latin Dictionary
-
A
·- Of.
II. A ·prep In; on; at; by.
III. A ·- An expletive, void of sense, to fill up the meter.
I...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
A 1
·- A registry mark given by underwriters (as at Lloyd's) to ships in first-class condition. Inferior...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
A-
·- A, as a prefix to English words, is derived from various sources. (1) It frequently signifies on ...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
A
Alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet, as Omega is the last. These letters occur in the text...
Easton's Bible Dictionary
-
a
As for example the word alarm, alarum, a bell, from the German lärm; but the military alarm on a dru...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
William Smith's Bible Dictionary
-
Apple-jack
·noun Apple brandy.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Black-jack
·noun The ensign of a pirate.
II. Black-jack ·noun The Quercus nigra, or barren oak.
III. Black-ja...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
California jack
·add. ·- A game at cards, a modification of seven-up, or all fours.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Cheap-jack
·noun ·Alt. of Cheap-john.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Jack Ketch
·- A public executioner, or hangman.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Minute-jack
·noun A timeserver; an inconstant person.
II. Minute-jack ·noun A figure which strikes the hour on ...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Supple-jack
·noun A climbing shrub (Berchemia volubilus) of the Southern United States, having a tough and pliab...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
London, Jack
(b. 1876)
American novelist. The Son of the Wolf (1900), The God of his Fathers, Children of the Fr...
Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature by John W. Cousin
-
black jack
1) A nick name given to the Recorder by the Thieves.
2) A jug to drink out of, made of jacked leath...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
glim jack
A link-boy. CANT.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
jack adams
A fool. Jack Adams's parish; Clerkenwell.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
jack ketch
The hangman; vide DERRICK and KETCH.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
jack pudding
The merry andrew, zany, or jester to a mountebank.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
jack robinson
Before one could say Jack Robinson; a saying to express a very short time, originating from a very v...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
jack sprat
A dwarf, or diminutive fellow.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
jack weight
A fat man.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
jack whore
A large masculine overgrown wench.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
jack-bird
n.
a bird of the South Island of NewZealand, Creadion cinereus, Buller. See also Saddle-back and Cr...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
jack shay
or Jackshea, n.
a tin quart-pot.
1881. A. C. Grant, `Bush Life in Queensland,' vol. i. p. 209:
«H...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
long-jack
name given to the tree Flindersiaoxleyana, F. v. M., N.O. Meliaceae; called alsoLight Yellow-Wood.
...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
station-jack
n.
a form of bush cookery.
1853. `The Emigrant's Guide to Australia.' (Article onBush-Cookery, fro...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
supple-jack
n.
The word is English in thesense of a strong cane, and is the name of various climbingshrubs from...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
apple jack
A liquor distilled from cider; also called cider brandy.
...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
flap-jack
A fried cake; a pan-cake; a fritter. A word used alike in England and the United States, where it is...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
supple jack
(Lat. rhamnus volubilis.) The popular name of a vine common to some of the Southern States. Twisted ...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
flop-jack
a small pasty, or turn-over. Glouc.
...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
-
black-jack
The ensign of a pirate. Also, a capacious tin can for beer, which was formerly made of waxed leather...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
double-jack
See jack-screw.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jack adams
A stubborn fool.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jack afloat
A sailor. Euripides used almost the same term in floater, for a seaman.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jack-barrel
A minnow.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jack-block
A block occasionally attached to the topgallant-tie, and through which the top-gallant top-rope is r...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jack-boots
Large coverings for the feet and legs, outside all, worn by fishermen.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jack-hern
A name on our southern coasts for the heron.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jack-knife
A horn-handled clasp-knife with a laniard, worn by seamen.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jack-pins
A name applied to the fife-rail pins, also called Tack-pins.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jack robinson
♦ Before you could say Jack Robinson, is a very old expression for a short time,
"A warke it ys as...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jack-screw
A small machine used to cant or lift weighty substances, and in stowing cotton or other elastic good...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jack-shark
A common sobriquet of the Squalus tribe.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jack-sharp
A small fresh-water fish, otherwise known as prickly-back.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jack-staff
A short staff raised at the bowsprit-cap, upon which the union-jack is hoisted.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jack-stays
Ropes, battens, or iron bars placed on a yard or spar and set taut, either for bending the head of a...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
lifting-jack
A portable machine for lifting heavy objects, acting by the power either of the lever, the tooth and...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
skip-jack
A dandified trifling officer; an upstart. Also, the merry-thought of a fowl. Also, a small fish of t...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
union-jack
The union flag used separately; in the merchant service it must have a broad white border.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
whip-jack
An old term, equivalent to fresh-water sailor, or a sham-shipwrecked tar. (See turnpike-sailors.)
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
dandy grey russet
A dirty brown. His coat's dandy grey russet, the colour of the Devil's nutting bag.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
Jack-o'-lantern
·noun ·see Jack-with-a-lantern, under 2d Jack.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
jack nasty face
A sea term, signifying a common sailor.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
jack of legs
A tall long-legged man; also a giant, said to be buried in Weston church, near Baldock, in Hertfords...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
Jack the Painter
n.
very strong bush-tea, socalled from the mark it leaves round the drinker's mouth.
1855. G. C. M...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
jack-sharp-nails
a prickle-back ; called also, in Middlesex, a strickle-back. Derb.
...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
-
jack-o-legs
a clasp knife. N.
...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
-
bread-room jack
The purser's steward's help.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
fresh-water jack
The same as fresh-water sailor.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jack cross-trees
Single iron cross-trees at the head of long topgallant-masts, to support royal and skysail masts.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jack in office
An insolent fellow in authority.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jack nasty-face
A cook's assistant.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jack of dover
An old sea-dish, the composition of which is now lost. Chaucer's host in rallying the cook exclaims,...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jack o' lantern
The corpo santo, or St. Elmo's light, is sometimes so called.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
A cappella
·- A time indication, equivalent to alla breve.
II. A cappella ·- In church or chapel style;
— sai...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
A cheval
·add. ·- Astride; with a part on each side;
— used specif. in designating the position of an army w...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
A fortiori
·- With stronger reason.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
A posteriori
·- Applied to knowledge which is based upon or derived from facts through induction or experiment; i...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
A priori
·- Applied to knowledge and conceptions assumed, or presupposed, as prior to experience, in order to...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
A-mornings
·adv In the morning; every morning.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
A-sea
·adv On the sea; at sea; toward the sea.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
A-tiptoe
·adv On tiptoe; eagerly expecting.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Due-a
·noun ·see Do-a.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Pi-a
·add. ·noun The <<Pineapple>>.
II. Pi-a ·add. ·noun Pi-a cloth or the fiber of which it is made.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Vicu-a
·noun ·Alt. of <<Vicugna>>.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
a-many
a great number, pronounced Meyny. North.
...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
-
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
-
a-scat
broken like an egg. Dev.
...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
-
a-slat
crack'd like an earthen vessel. Dev.
...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
-
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
-
a-burton
The situation of casks when they are stowed in the hold athwart ship, or in a line with the beam.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
a-cockbill
(see cock-bill). The anchor hangs by its ring at the cat-head, in a position for dropping.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
a-hull
A ship under bare poles and her helm a-lee, driving from wind and sea, stern foremost. Also a ship d...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
a-lee
The contrary of a-weather: the position of the helm when its tiller is borne over to the lee-side of...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
a-poise
Said of a vessel properly trimmed.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
a-starboard
The opposite to a-port.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
a-stay
Said of the anchor when, in heaving in, the cable forms such an angle with the surface as to appear ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
a-trip
The anchor is a-trip, or a-weigh, when the purchase has just made it break ground, or raised it clea...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
a-wash
Reefs even with the surface. The anchor just rising to the water's edge, in heaving up.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
a-weather
The position of the helm when its tiller is moved to the windward side of the ship, in the direction...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
a-weigh
The anchor being a-trip, or after breaking out of the ground.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
Jack Alley, Bow Lane
See Crown Court16, Trinity Lane.
...
A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
-
jack in an office
An insolent fellow in authority.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
jack in the basket
A sort of wooden cap or basket on the top of a pole, to mark a sand-bank or hidden danger.
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jack in the box
A very handy engine, consisting of a large wooden male screw turning in a female one, which forms th...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jack in the dust
See jack in the bread-room
...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
jib and staysail jack
A designation of inexperienced officers, who are troublesome to the watch by constantly calling it u...
The Sailor's Word-Book
-
mine a-se on a bandbox
An answer to the offer of any thing inadequate to the purpose for which it is wanted, just as a band...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
A B C
·- The simplest rudiments of any subject; as, the A B C of finance.
II. A B C ·- A primer for teach...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
All-a-mort
·adj ·see <<Alamort>>.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Black-a-vised
·adj Dark-visaged; swart.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Bric-a brac
·noun Miscellaneous curiosities and works of decorative art, considered collectively.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Char-a-bancs
·noun A long, light, open vehicle, with benches or seats running lengthwise.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Chars-a-banc
·pl of Char-a-bancs.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Cock-a-hoop
·adj Boastful; defiant; exulting. Also used adverbially.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Cornet-a-piston
·noun A brass wind instrument, like the trumpet, furnished with valves moved by small pistons or sli...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Cornets-a-piston
·pl of Cornet-a-piston.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Dos-a-dos
·add. ·noun A sofa, open carriage, or the like, so constructed that the occupants sit back to back.
...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Flute a bec
·- A beak flute, an older form of the flute, played with a mouthpiece resembling a beak, and held li...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Penny-a-liner
·noun One who furnishes matter to public journals at so much a line; a poor writer for hire; a hack ...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Pi-a cloth
·add. ·- A fine fabric for scarfs, handkerchiefs, embroidery, ·etc., woven from the fiber obtained f...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Tete-a-tete
·adj Private; confidential; familiar.
II. Tete-a-tete ·noun A short sofa intended to accomodate two...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Vis-a-vis
·adv Face to face.
II. Vis-a-vis ·noun One who, or that which, is face to face with another; ·esp.,...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Wait-a-bit
·add. ·noun The prickly ash.
II. Wait-a-bit ·add. ·noun The grapple plant.
III. Wait-a-bit ·add. ·...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Wait-a-while
·add. ·noun = Wait-a-bit.
II. Wait-a-while ·add. ·noun One of the Australian wattle trees (Acacia c...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
-
Adam, a type
The apostle Paul speaks of Adam as "the figure of him who was to come." On this account our Lord is ...
Easton's Bible Dictionary
-
all-a-mort
Struck dumb, confounded. What, sweet one, all-a-mort? SHAKESPEARE.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
black a-se
A copper or kettle. The pot calls the kettle black a-se. Cant.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
to run a buck
To poll a bad vote at an election.--IRISH TERM.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
chick-a-biddy
A chicken, so called to and by little children.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
cock-a-whoop
Elevated, in high-spirits, transported with joy.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
to couch a hogshead
To lie down to sleep. CANT.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
to fight a crib
To make a sham fight. BEAR GARDEN TERM.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
cure a-se
A dyachilon plaister, applied to the parts galled by riding.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
dram-a-tick
A dram served upon credit.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
drop a cog
To let fall, with design, a piece of gold or silver, in order to draw in and cheat the person who se...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
firing a gun
Introducing a story by head and shoulders. A man wanting to tell a particular story, said to the com...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
to fire a slug
To drink a dram.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
foxing a boot
Mending the foot by capping it.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
mumble a sparrow
A cruel sport practised at wakes and fairs, in the following manner: A cock sparrow whose wings are ...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
pit-a-pat
The palpitation of the heart: as, my heart went pit-a-pat. Pintledy-pantledy; the same.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
to ring a peal
To scold; chiefly applied to women. His wife rung him a fine peal!
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
slug-a-bed
A drone, one that cannot rise in the morning.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
squint-a-pipes
A squinting man or woman; said to be born in the middle of the week, and looking both ways for Sunda...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
wear a--e
A one-horse chaise.
...
Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
-
bull-a-bull
or Bullybul
n.
a child'scorruption of the Maori word Poroporo (q.v.), aflowering shrub of New Zeal...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
cock-a-bully
n. a popular name for the NewZealand fish Galaxias fasciatus, Gray, a corruption ofits Maori name Ko...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
make a light
expressive pigeon-English. An aboriginal'sphrase for to look for, to find. «You been make a lightyar...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
mark, a good
Australian slang.
1845. R. Howitt, `Australia,' p. 233:
«I wondered often what was the meaning of ...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
stay-a-while
n.
a tangled bush; sometimescalled Wait-a-while (q.v.).
...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
wait-a-while
n.
also called Stay-a-while: a thicket tree.
1889. J. H. Maiden, `Useful Native Plants,' p. 306:
...
Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
-
to bear a hand
A seaman's phrase. To be ready ; to go to work; to assist.
...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to catch a tartar
To attack one of superior strength or abilities. This saying originated from the story of an Irish s...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to cut a caper
(Italian, tagliar le capriole.) The act of dancing in a frolicksome manner.--Todd. We use it also in...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to cut a dash
In modern colloquial speech, to make a great show; to make a figure.--Johnson. A fashionable or gail...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to cut a figure
To make an appearance, either good or bad.
We are not as much surprised at the poor figure cut by t...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to cut a swathe
The same as to cut a dash.
The expression is generally applied to a person walking who is gaily dre...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to deacon a calf
is to knock it in the head as soon as it is born.--Connecticut.
...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to drive a bargain
To make a bargain. A common colloquial expression, as old as the language.
This bargain is ful dr...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to girdle a tree
In America, to make a circular incision, like a belt, through the bark and alburnum of a tree to kil...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to have a say
To express an opinion. A phrase in vulgar use.
I picked out "Henry Clay" for my baby's name, but t...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to make a raise
A vulgar expression, meaning to raise; procure; obtain.
I made a raise of a horse and saw, after be...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to raise a bead
This expression is used at the West, and means to bring to a head, to make succeed. The figure is ta...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to sky a copper
To toss up a cent.
Didge said he was like skying a copper--head or tail.--Crockett, Tour.
...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
to trig a wheel
To stop a wheel so as to prevent its going backwards or forwards.--Bailey. Still used in New England...
Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
-
jacket-a-wad
an ignis fatuus. Exm.
...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
-
scotch a wheel
to stop it from going backward. Lane.
...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
-
well-a-day!
alas! Various.
...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
-
cutting a feather
It is common when a ship has too broad a bow to say, "She will not cut a feather," meaning that she ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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dick-a-dilver
A name for the periwinkle on our eastern coasts.
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The Sailor's Word-Book
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disparting a gun
To bring the line of sight and line of metal to be parallel by setting up a mark on the muzzle-ring ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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docking a ship
The act of drawing her into dock, and placing her properly on blocks, in order to give her the requi...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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doubling a cape
In navigation, is to sail round or pass beyond it, so that the point of land separates the ship from...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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driving a charge
Ramming home the loading of a piece of ordnance.
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The Sailor's Word-Book
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fall! a fall!
The cry to denote that the harpoon has been effectively delivered into the body of a whale.
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The Sailor's Word-Book
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frapping a ship
The act of passing four or five turns of a large cable-laid rope round a ship's hull when it is appr...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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get-a-pull
The order to haul in more of a rope or tackle.
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The Sailor's Word-Book
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give a spell
To intermit or relieve work. (See spell.)
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The Sailor's Word-Book
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pricking a sail
The running a middle seam between the two seams which unite every cloth of a sail to the next adjoin...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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racking a laniard
The fastening two running parts together with a seizing, so as to prevent it from rendering through ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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racking a tackle or laniard
The fastening two running parts together with a seizing, so as to prevent it from rendering through ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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shifting a tackle
The act of removing the blocks of a tackle to a greater distance from each other, in order to extend...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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show a leg!
An exclamation from the boatswain's mate, or master-at-arms, for people to show that they are awake ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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spanning a harpoon
Fixing the line which connects the harpoon and its staff. The harpoon iron is a socketed tool, taper...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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spiking a gun
Driving a large nail or iron spike into the vent, which will render the cannon unserviceable until r...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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swifting a ship
Either bringing her aground or upon a careen; also passing cables round her bottom and upper-works, ...
The Sailor's Word-Book
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taking a departure
Determining the place of a ship by means of the bearing and distance of a known object, and assuming...
The Sailor's Word-Book