As the Brethren are well aware, sailors are a superstitious
lot. Today’s word plays in to that mind set. And it also points up where and
when a sailor is not afraid to let superstition go by the board to save his
skin, or for an extra few minutes of blessed sleep.
The practice known at sea as cheating the Devil has
everything to do with superstition. Bringing the Lord, or for that matter the
Arch Fiend, into one’s speech was a sure way to court disaster aboard ship. This
lead to what Admiral Smyth refers to as the “softening of very profane phrases”
in The Sailor’s Word Book. Thus
“God’s death” might come out as ‘od’s depth. Other epithets familiar to the
seamen that would otherwise feature the word God might include ‘od’s blood, ‘od
rot it, or for ‘od’s sake.
On the other hand, calling up the Devil would never do
either, except as an absolute last resort. In such cases, a sailor might offer
his hair to the Devil, throwing a lock into the water or up into the wind to
please Old Scratch in desperate times. Help in a pinch is help, after all; the
consequences can be dealt with later. All things being equal, however, sailors
would rather not court Satan. Thus phrases like by gosh, be darned and dang you
probably had a seagoing origin. More colorful terms such as deuce take you and
see you blown first might also be overheard. Better safe than sorry after all.
The habit known as cheating, or flogging, the glass comes
from a time when clocks were not a feature on a ship’s deck. The timing of
bells and watches was kept by means of a half-hour glass which was usually hung
near the binnacle. General understanding
among seamen had it that the sand would run through the glass more quickly if
exposed to vibration. A man might “cheat the glass” by jarring it surreptitiously.
As Admiral Smyth aptly puts it:
… hence some weary
soul towards the end of his watch was said to flog the glass.
Given that the average Jack got no more than four hours at a
stretch of free time at sea, one can imagine a tired soul being desperate to
hurry time along.
Happy Saturday, Brethren; watch your language – and the
glass – out there.
Header: Sunset by
Mykola Yaroshenko via Old Paint
3 comments:
Good advice, Pauline. I will certainly try, but I won't make any promises that I'm unlikely to keep.
Great colours!
Timmy! No need for promises, just watch yer back.
Kellie: it is a lovely, and rather peaceful, painting I think. Thanks for stopping by.
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