Have you ever been told to mind your P's and Q's? Have you ever heard someone tell their noisy kids to pipe down? Have you ever been under the weather, or known someone that was three sheets to the wind? If you've ever encountered any of these terms then you've been touched by terms that were born at sea.

This will be a very brief rundown of some common terms that come from the nautical services. But first, we should discuss pronunciation. Many nautical terms are pronounced oddly to the American ear. For example, the knot spelled “bowline” is pronounced bo-lin with a long “O”, “gunwale” is pronounced gun’l with one syllable, and forecastle is pronounced foks’l, again with a long “O”. The pronunciation of nautical terms is associated with British accents from the north and west of England; Devon, Cornwall and Northumbria, to be specific. When these terms came into standard use, during the 17th and 18th centuries, most British sailormen came from these particular areas of England. As a result, nautical language has been forever changed to an accent peculiar to these regions.

Above Board -
Anything on or above the open deck. If something is open and in plain view, it is above board.

As the Crow Flies -
When lost or unsure of their position in coastal waters, ships would release a caged crow. The crow would fly straight towards the nearest land thus giving the vessel some sort of a navigational fix. The tallest lookout platform on a ship came to be know as the crow's nest.

At Loggerheads -
An iron ball attached to a long handle was a loggerhead. When heated it was used to seal the pitch in deck seams. It was also a handy weapon for quarreling crewmen.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea -
The devil seam was the curved seam in the deck planking closest to the side of the ship and next to the scupper gutters. If a sailor slipped on the deck, he could find himself between the devil and the deep blue sea. They could also be in the same position if lowered down the side of the ship to paint or repair.

Bitter End, The –
The end of an anchor cable is fastened to the bitts at the ship's bow. If all of the anchor cable has been payed out you have come to the bitter end.

By and Large -
Currently means in all cases or in any case. From the nautical: by meaning into the wind and large meaning with the wind: as in, "By and Large the ship handled very well."

Cut and Run -
If a captain of a smaller ship encountered a larger enemy vessel, he might decide that discretion is the better part of valor, and so he would order the crew to cut the lashings on all the sails and run before the wind. Other sources indicate "Cut and Run" meant to cut the anchor cable and sail in a hurry.

Devil to Pay, The -
To pay the deck seams meant to seal them with tar. The devil seam was the most difficult to pay because it was curved and intersected with the straight deck planking. Some sources define the "devil" as the below-the-waterline-seam between the keel and the adjoining planking. Paying the Devil was a most difficult and unpleasant task.

Dressed to the Nines –
A square rigged ship of war had three masts. Each mast had three yardarms. Therefore, each warship had a total of nine yardarms. When a ship came back to its home port, the crew would dress the yardarms with bunting and flags. If they had a VERY successful cruise they’d be allowed to dress her to the nines; thus, all nine yardarms would be dressed with bunting and flags when things went very well.

First Rate -
Implies excellence. From the 16th century on until steam powered ships took over, British naval ships were rated as to the number of heavy cannon they carried. A ship of 100 or more guns was a First Rate ship-of-the-line. Second rates carried 90 to 98 guns; Third Rates, 64 to 89 guns; Fourth Rates, 50 to 60 guns. Frigates carrying 20 to 48 guns were fifth and sixth rated.

Fly-by-Night -
A large sail used only for sailing downwind and requiring little attention.

Footloose -
The bottom portion of a sail is called the foot. If it is not secured, it is footloose and it dances randomly in the wind.

Freeze the Balls off a Brass Monkey -
Pyramids of cannon balls stood between each gun on a ship of war. The cannon balls were arranged on a small tray called a monkey. The ball monkeys would usually be made of wood, but in some larger ships they were made of brass (very decorative). If the weather grew cold very rapidly the brass of the tray would contract faster than the iron of the cannon balls. In such a case the balls would roll off the brass monkey and be loose on the deck.

Garbled -
Garbling was the prohibited practice of mixing garbage with the cargo (instead of disposing of it properly). A distorted, mixed up message was said to be garbled.

Gone By the Board -
Anything seen to have gone overboard or spotted floating past the ship (by the board) was considered lost at sea.

Groggy –
In 1740, British Admiral Vernon (whose nickname was "Old Grogram" for the cloak of grogram which he wore) ordered that the sailors' daily ration of rum be diluted with water. The men called the mixture "grog". A sailor who drank too much grog was "groggy".

I don’t like the cut of His jib -
French warships often had differently shaped jib sails than their English opponents. A British captain, seeing a distant ship in his glass, might decide that it was French based simply upon the cut of his jib.

In the Offing -
From the 16th century usage meaning a good distance from shore, barely visible from land, as in - "We sighted a ship in the offing."

Know the Ropes -
There was miles and miles of cordage in old ships. The only way of keeping track of and knowing the function of all of these lines was to know where they were located. It took an experienced seaman to know the ropes.

Leeway -
The weather side of a ship is the side from which the wind is blowing. The Lee side is the side of the ship sheltered from the wind. A lee shore is a shore that is downwind of a ship. If a ship does not have enough "leeway" it is in danger of being driven onto the shore.

Let the Cat Out of the Bag -
In the Royal Navy the punishment prescribed for most serious crimes was flogging. This was administered by the Bosun's Mate using a whip called a cat o' nine tails. The "cat" was kept in a leather bag. It was considered bad news indeed when the cat was let out of the bag. Other sources attribute the expression to the old English market scam of selling someone a pig in a poke (bag)) when the pig turned out to be a cat instead.

Limey –
In 1795 the issue of lime juice aboard British naval ships was regularized to prevent scurvy amongst sailors. At the time of writing this, British naval ships are still required to carry lime juice and American sailors persist in calling British sailors limeys.

Mind your P’s and Q’s -
Sailors on warships tended to celebrate when they returned home. Not only would they be happy about their return home, but they’d also get their back-pay settled-up as well. They would go to pub and start an account to be paid when they left. The innkeeper would make marks on a board to keep track of who drank how much; “P” stood for pints, “Q” stood for quarts. An unscrupulous innkeeper might try to add a few marks to a sailors tab when he wasn’t looking. His shipmates would tell him to mind his P’s and Q’s to let him know that the innkeeper was adding to his bill.

Over a Barrel -
The most common method of punishment aboard ship was flogging. The unfortunate sailor was tied to a grating, a mast or over the barrel of a deck cannon.

Overhaul -
To prevent the buntline ropes from chaffing the sails, crew were sent aloft to haul them over the sails. This was called overhauling.

Pipe Down -
Means stop talking and be quiet. Bosun mates used shrill pipes to give signals during the noise of battle. They came to be used at other times, during ceremonies or at particular times of the day. The Pipe Down was the last signal from the Bosun's pipe each day which meant "lights out" and "keep quiet".

Pooped -
The poop is the stern section of a ship. To be pooped is to be swamped by a high, following sea.

POSH –
In the days when the only way to India from Great Britain was by sea, it was customary for wealthy passengers to carefully choose cabins on the cool side of the ship - port out, starboard home, hence the acronym POSH.

Press Into Service -
The British navy filled their ships' crew quotas by kidnapping men off the streets and forcing them into service. This was called being "pressed" and was done by Press Gangs.

Rummage Sale -
From the French "arrimage" meaning ship's cargo. Damaged cargo was sold at a rummage sale.

Scuttlebutt -
A butt was a barrel. Scuttle meant to chop a hole in something. The scuttlebutt was a water barrel with a hole cut into it so that sailors could reach in and dip out drinking water. The scuttlebutt was the place where the ship's gossip was exchanged.

Skyscraper -
A small triangular sail set above the skysail in order to maximize effect in a light wind. It was the highest sail on the ship.

Slush Fund -
A slushy slurry of fat was obtained by boiling or scraping the empty salted meat storage barrels. This stuff called "slush" was often sold ashore by the ship's cook for the benefit of himself or the crew. The money so derived became known as a slush fund.

Son of a Gun -
When in port, and with the crew restricted to the ship for any extended period of time, wives and ladies of questionable virtue often were allowed to live aboard ship with the crew. Infrequently, but not uncommonly, children were born in this time, and a convenient place for giving birth was between guns on the gun deck. If the child's father was unknown, they were entered in the ship's log as "son of a gun". To be a son of a gun was to be of questionable parentage.

Square Meal –
In good weather, crews' mess was a warm meal served on square wooden platters.

Start Over with a Clean Slate -
A slate tablet was kept near the helm on which the watch keeper would record the speeds, distances, headings and tacks during the watch. If there were no problems during the watch, the slate would be wiped clean so that the new watch could start with a clean slate.

Taken Aback -
A dangerous situation where the wind is on the wrong side of the sails pressing them back against the mast and forcing the ship astern. Most often this was caused by an inattentive helmsman who had allowed the ship to head up into the wind. A ship that’s taken aback could be in grave danger.

Three Sheets to the Wind -
A sheet is a rope which controls the tension on the downwind side of a sail. If, on a three masted fully rigged ship, the sheets of the three lower sails are loose, the sails will flap and flutter and are said to be "in the wind". A ship in this condition would stagger and wander aimlessly downwind.

Toe the Line -
When called to line up at attention, the ship's crew would form up with their toes touching a seam in the deck planking.

Touch and Go -
This referred to a ship's keel touching the bottom and getting right off again.

Turn a Blind Eye –
Admiral Horatio Nelson was a battle scarred veteran of the British Royal Navy in the late 1700s. He lost an arm and an eye in various fights. In one particular battle he commanded a division of ships and was ordered to retreat by his commanding officer. The order was sent by signal flags from the flagship ship (hence the name “flagship”). One of his officers pointed out the signal. Nelson turned his blind eye toward the flagship and said “I see no signal.” He continued the fight and won a great victory in spite of his commanders attempt to withdraw.

Under the Weather -
If a crewman is standing watch on the weather side of the bow, he will be subject to the constant beating of the sea and the ocean spray. If the water temperature is chilly, he might get sick. To be under the weather is to risk getting sick, or to be sick already.

Whole Nine yards, The –
This term refers to battle tactics. A square rigged ship of war had three masts. Each mast had three yardarms. Therefore, each warship had a total of nine yardarms. Yardarms were often referred to simply as “yards.” When a warship turned through the wind the yards would have to be swung around to catch the breeze from another direction. The ship wasn’t committed to the maneuver until the whole nine yards had been swung around. Only at that point was the ship committed to the turn.

Windfall -
A sudden unexpected rush of wind from a mountainous shore which allowed a ship more leeway.