Navy tradition

[Devildoc]

I was unpacking some boxes and found a textbook from Navy DCO/OCS, "Origins, Traditions, & Facts". It's filled with a lot of useless trivia and crap, but a lot of it elicits a "huh, so that's where that came from...."

Phrases that come from Naval history and tradition: between the devil and the deep blue sea; to show one's true colors; to be 'above board'; the bitter end; and (for coffee), a cup of Joe.

 

[Polar Bear]

I was scared of opening this thread. I thought for sure I there was going to be a picture of naked squids doing unspeakable things as they crossed the equator.

 

[DA SWO]

I was unpacking some boxes and found a textbook from Navy DCO/OCS, "Origins, Traditions, & Facts". It's filled with a lot of useless trivia and crap, but a lot of it elicits a "huh, so that's where that came from...."

Phrases that come from Naval history and tradition: between the devil and the deep blue sea; to show one's true colors; to be 'above board'; the bitter end; and (for coffee), a cup of Joe.

You going to explain them?

 

[Devildoc]

You going to explain them?

Want to get back to the office tomorrow I'll post up some explanations....

 

[AWP]

Naval tradition is nothing but rum, sodomy, and the lash.

 

[Ooh-Rah]

Naval tradition is nothing but rum, sodomy, and the lash.

And not necessarily in that order.

 

[Teufel]

Rope yarn was a new one to me. Apparently repairing lines (rope yarn) was considered easy duty and frequently followed a change of command. Now it’s slang for an early release or time off.

 

[Devildoc]

You going to explain them?

Between the devil and the deep blue sea: In wooden ships the "devil" was the longest seam of the ship, running from the bow to the stern, at or just above the waterline. When at sea the devil had to be caulked by a sailor in a bo'sun chair, and was therefore in a precarious position: between the devil and the deep blue sea.

To show one's true colors: ships of the line would carry flags of many nationalities and fly them in wartime, but custom demanded that ships fly their 'real' flag when they attacked, so at the last minute they would raise their 'real' flag, revealing their true colors.

To be above board: Slang term for honesty, which originated in the days when pirates would hide many of the crew behind the bulwarks in order to lure unsuspecting victims into thinking they were actually honest merchants. Ships that had its' crew openly on deck were referred to being "above board."

The bitter end: A turn of a ship's line around a bitt, the wooden or iron posts sticking through the deck to secure line. The last bit of line secured to the bitts was the bitter end. So to "stick to the bitter end" means to pursue to the end.

Cup of Joe: Josephus Daniels was a SECNAV (1913), among his reforms making Navy ships "dry" (he was fiercely anti-alcohol), so the strongest drink aboard ship was coffee, called "Joe" after Daniels.