Military & Nautical Phrases

By Albert Jack

From the Author of the Internationally Bestselling Red Herrings & White Elephants, Pop Goes the Weasel, What Caesar did for My Salad, Shaggy Dogs, They Laughed at Galileo:
 

Many times, during every single day, all of us will use what is known as an Idiom. Idioms are words and phrases, which those of us with a native English tongue take for granted as we have grown up to recognise their meaning. That is despite the words being used having absolutely nothing at all to do with the context of a conversation we are having. 
 

Those little phrases appear in conversation all over the English speaking world, every minute of the day, and we take them for granted. And many of them have evolved from a particular event, or repeated events, or even perhaps a significant figure from history. 
 

There are thousands of them that have been covered in my books Red Herrings and White Elephants, Shaggy Dogs and Black Sheep or It's a Wonderful World. In this volume, however, we are going to concentrate only on those with a nautical or military history.

I know you have heard many of them before and probably even use them regularly. Now, you are going to love finding out where they came from in the first place and how they became part of the rich English language.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Albert Jack Publishing
• Release date: Mar 8, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386246626

Book preview

Military & Nautical Phrases

Etymology: The Origins of Nautical & Military Phrases

(2021 Edition)

Albert Jack

Albert Jack Publishing

Copyright Page

Military & Nautical Phrases:

Etymology: The Origins of Nautical & Military Phrases

(2021 Edition)

Copyright © February 2104 Albert Jack

Cover Design: Albert Jack

ebook Production: Albert Jack Publishing

All rights are reserved to the author. no part of this ebook may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

This is largely a work of non-fiction although the author could not resist the temptation to be creative with historical detail wherever possible.

Albert Jack Publishing

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About the Author

Albert Jack is a writer and historian. His first book, Red Herrings and White Elephants explored the origins of well-known idioms and phrases and became an international bestseller in 2004.

It was serialised by the Sunday Times and remained in their bestseller list for sixteen straight months. He followed this up with a series of bestsellers including Shaggy Dogs and Black Sheep, Pop Goes the Weasel and What Caesar did for My Salad.

Fascinated by discovering the truth behind the world’s great stories, Albert has become an expert in explaining the unexplained, enriching millions of dinner table conversations and ending bar room disputes the world over.

He is now a veteran of hundreds of live television shows and thousands of radio programmes worldwide. Albert lives somewhere between Guildford in England and Cape Town in South Africa.

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Introduction

Many times, during every single day, all of us will use what is known as an Idiom.

Idioms are words and phrases, which those of us with a native English tongue take for granted as we have grown up to recognise their meaning.

That is despite the words being used having absolutely nothing at all to do with the context of a conversation we are having.

For example if I explained I am writing this preface ‘off the cuff,' and with no preparation, you would immediately recognise it as an unprepared piece being written in one take, spontaneously and then left as it is (which, by the way, it is).

But why do I call that ‘off the cuff’ when it has nothing to do with my cuffs or being either on or off them.

Or if I suggested everything in this book was absolutely true, I can emphasis that statement by insisting every word in here is ‘straight from the horse’s mouth.'

Again, we all know that means it has come directly from the source of information and is therefore reliable. But I haven’t got a horse. I have never spoken to one and unless I can find one that wins more often, even when I hedge my bets, then I might have nothing to do with any of the beasts again.

Those little phrases appear in conversation all over the English speaking world, every minute of the day, and we take them for granted.

And many of them have evolved from a particular event, or repeated events, or even perhaps a significant figure from history.

There are thousands of them that have been covered in my books Red Herrings and White Elephants, Shaggy Dogs and Black Sheep or It’s a Wonderful World.

In this volume, however, we are going to concentrate only on those with a nautical or military history. I know you have heard many of them before and probably even use them regularly.

Now, you are going to love finding out where they came from in the first place and how they became part of the rich English language.

Albert Jack

An Albatross Around One’s Neck is considered to be a lifelong burden from which there is no escape.

In 1798 Samuel Taylor Coleridge published The Rime of the Ancient Mariner in his book Lyrical Ballard’s and a Few Other Poems.

The rhyme tells the story of a sailor whose ship was trapped by ice and who was visited by an albatross.

The bird was regarded as a lucky symbol at sea and, sure enough, soon afterwards the vessel was freed from the ice. But then the hungry mariner shot the albatross and almost instantly a curse befell the ship.

The furious crew hung the dead bird around the sailors’ neck as a punishment but one by one each of the crew then died, leaving the mariner alone.

Then, whilst watching the beautiful sea-snakes, in the waters around the ship, the mariner began blessing them all and the albatross dropped from his neck.

The ship was once again freed and his life saved.  From then on the man travelled the earth telling his tale and encouraging the love of all god’s creatures.

The moral of the story is that an albatross is a symbol of personal guilt from which any freedom must be earned.

Somebody who is Aloof is regarded as unapproachable and keeps others at an emotional distance.

This expression originated during the mid 16th century and comes from the Dutch word loef, meaning ‘windward.'

Throughout the navy, a ‘luff’ then became the word meaning ‘away and to windward,' which would indicate a ship was sailing along a lee shore, setting her bows close to the wind and away from land, to prevent herself being blown ashore.

From the land this would look as if a ship had her back to you, metaphorically speaking, with her head held high. Technically speaking, the ship was ‘a luff’ (aloof).

The expression AWOL is something we might apply to a friend or colleague whose absence cannot be explained as they are not wherever they should be.

Originally, in military terms at least, the expression meant ‘missing without permission’ and was applied to soldiers who were absent for a short period of time and then returned to their ranks.

During the American Civil War, offenders were forced to wear a placard around their necks with the initials AWOL printed on it, which stood for ‘Absent With Out Leave.'

As they were not strictly deserters and probably only drunk in a nearby tavern, the only punishment they had to endure was public shame.

During the First World War, the expression was still being pronounced as individual letters, and it was only as the Second World War drew to a close that ‘AWOL’ started to be used as an acronym.

Contrary to popular belief, the expression does not mean ‘absent without official leave.'

The expression Back To The Drawing Board is one we might use when our best intentions and well made plans fail to work. It means we have to try a new idea.

This phrase became popular during the Second World War when the New Yorker magazine published a cartoon depicting a newly built aircraft exploding into thousands of pieces before it had even taken off.

The designer, apparently unperturbed, simply shrugged his shoulders and remarked, ‘Oh well, so it is back to the drawing board again.’

The Backroom Boys are a group of people, male or female, who work