Nautical Slang from
the Nineteenth Century
By
Chuck Veit
Reprinted
from On
Deck!
The
webzine of the Navy & Marine Living History Association
ttp://www.navyandmarine.org/ondeck/index.htm
Cape Horn fever
An illness feigned by a seaman seeking relief from duty.
Damage his pepper box
To attempt to assassinate the master-at-arms by dropping a round shot on his
head from aloft or through an open hatchway
(A) Damn-my-eyes-tar
An inexperienced seaman who tried to cover his ignorance with blustering or
boisterous behavior
Dance at the gratings
To be flogged formally with a cat
Double the grog tub
To get an extra ration of liquor by rejoining the line filing past the grog tub
while liquor was being issued to the crew.
French leave
A sailor who absented himself temporarily with the intention of returning to his
ship was said to have taken "French leave"
Horse marine
An insulting reference to a marine by the seamen. A great insult when applied to
a sailor, implying he was unhandy or lubberly.
Kiss the wooden lady
To be forced to stand facing the bole of a wooden mast with arms encircling it
and wrists lashed together as a minor punishment. Shipmates were encourage to
kick the offender in the buttocks while passing by.
Purser rigged and parish damned
Said of a man who entered the navy to escape problems ashore; also of a man who
entered the navy in a destitute condition
Rosewater sailor
An incompetent, foppish or unseamanlike officer
Ship a quarterdeck face again
After the relaxation of normal shipboard discipline during skylarking or a
theatrical performance, officers customarily signified that all rules and
regulations were back in force by resuming their customary formal demeanor
towards the crew. This was called "shipping a quarterdeck face again."
Skin or Snake
A tube made out of livestock intestines worn wrapped around the body, esp. the
ankles, used to smuggle liquor onto the ship.
Suck the monkey
To draw liquor out of a cask with a straw. Sailors ashore would partially empty
the contents of casks of paint and refill them with alcohol. Once loaded
onboard, the contents were allowed time to settle and separate -- pigment
sinking to the bottom and alcohol to the top; presumably any remaining
turpentine would end up in the middle. Piercing the top of the keg with a straw
allowed the men to draw off the alcohol. It is unknown how many men died as a
result of drinking turpentine! The phrase comes from the original practice of
filling empty coconuts with alcohol, the three dark marks on the coconut
resembling the face of a monkey.
White mouse
A lower deck informer or spy for the master-at-arms
Gun decking
Under certain circumstances drunkenness was not a naval crime. Shore liberty was
granted very infrequently and it was expected that many of the men would return
to the ship drunk, with clothes torn, and, bearing the marks of fights and
riots. The officers of the deck merely recorded the return of each man in the
logbook. A man returning in reasonable condition was logged as "CS,"
meaning clean and sober. A drunk was logged as "DD," which stood for
drunk and dirty. A drunken libertyman had one prerogative that had grown up with
the practice of granting shore leave. He was expected to conduct himself as best
he could in the presence of the gangway watch; but upon reaching the gun deck,
he was allowed to curse the officers, the ship, the navy, or any other
institution in the vilest language he was capable of uttering with impunity.
This practice was called "gundecking" and constituted one of the few
ways which the men of the Old Navy had for releasing pent-up emotions.
