Minuteman
06/15/2006, 10:57 AM
Gundecking
In the modern Navy, falsifying reports, records and the like is often referred to as "gundecking." The origin of the term is somewhat obscure, but at the risk of "gundecking," here are two plausible explanations for its modern usage. The deck below the upper deck on a British sailing ship-of-war was called the gun deck although it carried no guns. This false deck may have been constructed to deceive enemies as to the amount of armament carried, thus the "gundeck" was a falsification.
A more plausible explanation may stem from shortcuts taken by early Midshipmen when doing their navigation lessons. Each Mid was supposed to take sun lines at noon and star sights at night and then go below to the gun deck, work out their calculations and show them to the navigator. Certain of these young men, however, had a special formula for getting the correct answers. They would note the noon or last position on the quarter-deck traverse board and determine the approximate current position by dead reckoning plotting. Armed with this information, they proceeded to the gun deck to "gundeck" their navigation homework by simply working backwards from the dead reckoning position.
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Chewing the Fat
"God made the vittles, but the devil made the cook," was a popular saying used by seafaring men in the last century when salted beef was staple diet aboard ship. This tough cured beef, suitable only for long voyages when nothing else was as cheap or would keep as well, required prolonged chewing to make it edible. Men often chewed one chunk for hours, just as if it were chewing gum and referred to this practice as "chewing the fat.".
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The Lucky Bag
The so-called Lucky Bag was really a huge locker in which articles lost aboard ship were deposited. Once a month these articles were produced and handed back to their respective owners. But there was a catch to it...each lucky recipient of a lost article was then given three strokes from the cat-o'-nine tails to teach him not to lose anything again.
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Jacob's Ladder
Jacob's Ladder is a portable ladder made of rope or metal and used primarily as an aid in boarding a ship. Originally, the Jacob's Ladder was a network of line leading to the skysail on wooden ships. The name alludes to the biblical Jacob, reputed to have dreamed that he climbed a ladder to the sky. Anyone who has ever tried climbing a Jacob's Ladder while carrying a seabag can appreciate the allusion. It does seem that the climb is long enough to take one into the next world.
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Log Books
Today, any bound record kept on a daily basis aboard ship is called a "log." Originally, records were kept on the sailing ship by inscribing information onto shingles cut from logs and hinged so they opened like books. When paper became more readily available, "log books" were manufactured from paper and bound. Shingles were relegated to naval museums but the slang term stuck.
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Wardroom
The Wardroom originally was known as the Wardrobe Room, a place where officers kept their spare wearing apparel. It was also the space where any loot secured from enemy ships, was stored. In an effort to have some privacy on a crowded ship, officers would sometimes take their meals in the Wardrobe Room. Today, the wardroom aboard ship is where officers take their meals, relax, and socialize.
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Dog Watch
Dog Watch is the name given to the 1600-1800 and the 1800-2000 watches aboard a ship. The 1600-2000 four-hour watch was originally split even to prevent men from always having to stand the same watches daily. As a result, Sailors dodge the same daily routine, hence they are dodging the watch or standing the dodge watch. In its corrupted form, dodge became dog and the procedure is referred as "dogging the watch" or standing the "dog watch."
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Hammocks
Swinging beds for Sailors were first used by Columbus, who discovered their practical use from natives in the West Indies.
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Skylarking
Originally, skylarking described the antics of young Navy men who climbed and slid down the backstays for fun. Since the ancient word "lac" means "to play" and the games started high in the masts, the term was skylacing." Later, corruption of the word changed it to "skylarking." Skylarking is a familiar term to most Sailors and a popular pastime for others. Today, it is generally looked upon with disfavor both onboard ship and ashore.
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The Superstition of Friday
The reluctance of seaman to sail on a Friday reached such epic proportions, that many years ago the British Government decided to take strong measures to prove the fallacy of the superstition. They laid the keel of a new vessel on Friday, launched her on a Friday and named her HMS Friday. They then placed her in command of one Captain Friday and sent her to sea on Friday. The scheme worked well, and had only one drawback...neither ship nor crew were ever heard from again.
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Yankee
Americans are known by their nicknames from Hong Kong to Timbuktu; one of the most widely used is "Yankee." It's origin is uncertain but one belief is that it was given to us by the early Dutch.
Early American sea captains were known but not revered for their ability to drive a hard bargain. Dutchmen, who were also regarded as extremely frugal, jokingly referred to the hard to please Americans as "Yankers" or wranglers. The nom de plume persists to this day.
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Binnacle List
Many novice Sailors, confusing the words "binnacle" and "barnacle," have wondered what their illnesses had to do with crusty growths found on the hull of a ship. Their confusion is understandable.
Binnacle is defined as the stand or housing for the ship's compass located on the bridge. The term binnacle list, in lieu of sick list, originated years ago when ships' corpsmen used to place a list of the sick on the binnacle each morning to inform the Captain about the crew's health. After long practice, it came to be called the Binnacle List.
In the modern Navy, falsifying reports, records and the like is often referred to as "gundecking." The origin of the term is somewhat obscure, but at the risk of "gundecking," here are two plausible explanations for its modern usage. The deck below the upper deck on a British sailing ship-of-war was called the gun deck although it carried no guns. This false deck may have been constructed to deceive enemies as to the amount of armament carried, thus the "gundeck" was a falsification.
A more plausible explanation may stem from shortcuts taken by early Midshipmen when doing their navigation lessons. Each Mid was supposed to take sun lines at noon and star sights at night and then go below to the gun deck, work out their calculations and show them to the navigator. Certain of these young men, however, had a special formula for getting the correct answers. They would note the noon or last position on the quarter-deck traverse board and determine the approximate current position by dead reckoning plotting. Armed with this information, they proceeded to the gun deck to "gundeck" their navigation homework by simply working backwards from the dead reckoning position.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chewing the Fat
"God made the vittles, but the devil made the cook," was a popular saying used by seafaring men in the last century when salted beef was staple diet aboard ship. This tough cured beef, suitable only for long voyages when nothing else was as cheap or would keep as well, required prolonged chewing to make it edible. Men often chewed one chunk for hours, just as if it were chewing gum and referred to this practice as "chewing the fat.".
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Lucky Bag
The so-called Lucky Bag was really a huge locker in which articles lost aboard ship were deposited. Once a month these articles were produced and handed back to their respective owners. But there was a catch to it...each lucky recipient of a lost article was then given three strokes from the cat-o'-nine tails to teach him not to lose anything again.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacob's Ladder
Jacob's Ladder is a portable ladder made of rope or metal and used primarily as an aid in boarding a ship. Originally, the Jacob's Ladder was a network of line leading to the skysail on wooden ships. The name alludes to the biblical Jacob, reputed to have dreamed that he climbed a ladder to the sky. Anyone who has ever tried climbing a Jacob's Ladder while carrying a seabag can appreciate the allusion. It does seem that the climb is long enough to take one into the next world.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Log Books
Today, any bound record kept on a daily basis aboard ship is called a "log." Originally, records were kept on the sailing ship by inscribing information onto shingles cut from logs and hinged so they opened like books. When paper became more readily available, "log books" were manufactured from paper and bound. Shingles were relegated to naval museums but the slang term stuck.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wardroom
The Wardroom originally was known as the Wardrobe Room, a place where officers kept their spare wearing apparel. It was also the space where any loot secured from enemy ships, was stored. In an effort to have some privacy on a crowded ship, officers would sometimes take their meals in the Wardrobe Room. Today, the wardroom aboard ship is where officers take their meals, relax, and socialize.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dog Watch
Dog Watch is the name given to the 1600-1800 and the 1800-2000 watches aboard a ship. The 1600-2000 four-hour watch was originally split even to prevent men from always having to stand the same watches daily. As a result, Sailors dodge the same daily routine, hence they are dodging the watch or standing the dodge watch. In its corrupted form, dodge became dog and the procedure is referred as "dogging the watch" or standing the "dog watch."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hammocks
Swinging beds for Sailors were first used by Columbus, who discovered their practical use from natives in the West Indies.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Skylarking
Originally, skylarking described the antics of young Navy men who climbed and slid down the backstays for fun. Since the ancient word "lac" means "to play" and the games started high in the masts, the term was skylacing." Later, corruption of the word changed it to "skylarking." Skylarking is a familiar term to most Sailors and a popular pastime for others. Today, it is generally looked upon with disfavor both onboard ship and ashore.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Superstition of Friday
The reluctance of seaman to sail on a Friday reached such epic proportions, that many years ago the British Government decided to take strong measures to prove the fallacy of the superstition. They laid the keel of a new vessel on Friday, launched her on a Friday and named her HMS Friday. They then placed her in command of one Captain Friday and sent her to sea on Friday. The scheme worked well, and had only one drawback...neither ship nor crew were ever heard from again.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yankee
Americans are known by their nicknames from Hong Kong to Timbuktu; one of the most widely used is "Yankee." It's origin is uncertain but one belief is that it was given to us by the early Dutch.
Early American sea captains were known but not revered for their ability to drive a hard bargain. Dutchmen, who were also regarded as extremely frugal, jokingly referred to the hard to please Americans as "Yankers" or wranglers. The nom de plume persists to this day.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Binnacle List
Many novice Sailors, confusing the words "binnacle" and "barnacle," have wondered what their illnesses had to do with crusty growths found on the hull of a ship. Their confusion is understandable.
Binnacle is defined as the stand or housing for the ship's compass located on the bridge. The term binnacle list, in lieu of sick list, originated years ago when ships' corpsmen used to place a list of the sick on the binnacle each morning to inform the Captain about the crew's health. After long practice, it came to be called the Binnacle List.