Other Post ORIGINS of the SEA

[John A Silkstone]

When I was editor of the Longford writers’ magaizine, I hated wasting space, so I would fill the spaces with items I thought to be interesting, here are two of them.

Silky

ORIGINS of the SEA

‘THE DEVIL TO PAY’

Today the expression ‘devil to pay’ is used primarily to describe having an unpleasant result from some action that has been taken, as in someone has done something they shouldn't have and, as a result, ‘there will be the devil to pay.

Originally, this expression described one of the unpleasant tasks aboard a wooden sailing ship. The ‘devil’ was the ship's longest beam in the hull. Caulking was done with ‘pay’ or pitch (a kind of tar). The task of ‘paying the devil’ (caulking the longest seam) by squatting in the bilges was despised by every seaman.

CROW'S NEST

The raven, or crow, was an essential part of the Vikings' navigation. These land-loving birds were carried on aboard to help the ship's navigator determine where the closest land lay when weather prevented sighting the shore. In cases of poor visibility, a crow was released and the navigator plotted a course corresponding to the bird's flight path because the crow invariably headed towards land.

The Norsemen carried the birds in a cage secured to the top of the mast. Later on, as ships grew and the lookout stood his watch in a tub located high on the main mast, the name ‘crow's nest’ was given to this tub.

 

[John A Silkstone]

The 'Heads'

On sailing ships the officers and crew used to evacuate their bowels over the side of the ship. In order to preserve officers' dignity and to ensure their safety from possibly mutinous or vengeful crew members a Royal Marine was traditionally stationed at the point midships traditionally used for such purposes. When an officer wished to avail himself of the facility, the Marine would shout out "Turn your heads away" which quickly became a simple "Heads". That is why toilets on a ship are known as the head.

Glass-Bottomed Pewter Tankards

In the days of the press gangs it was common for a member of the press gang to slip a shilling into the tankard of an unwary individual. They would them claim him for the press as he had accepted the King's Shilling. Publicans, in order to protect their clientèle, started replacing the bottom of the pewter tankards with glass so that their customers could see if a shilling had been slipped into their pint.