Insights
'In irons' began as a phrase for a shackled prisoner. Sailors borrowed it for boats stalled head-to-wind. Now it's how candidates describe being stuck at work.
Sailing close to the wind" has 2,000-year-old maritime roots. The phrase still describes operating as close to the limit as possible without crossing it.
There's nothing average about 'average'. Born in a shipwreck, the word traces back 2,800 years and still costs cargo owners millions when ships go wrong.
'Blowing smoke up your arse' was once life-saving medicine. 18th century doctors used tobacco smoke enemas to revive drowning victims. Now it just means flattery.
The maritime origins of "in the doldrums," a sailor's phrase from the age of sail used for the windless belt near the equator where ships could sit becalmed for weeks.
In a hammock in a wooden sailing ship. A woman’s leg sticks up from a nearby hammock, “From ‘Show a leg’… ‘Shake a leg’ stuck!”
Dog watch comes from sailing ships: two short two‑hour watches (4–6pm, 6–8pm) that split a shift, rotating duties so no crew was stuck on the same hours every night.
Did you know 'nausea' has maritime origins? Jason Nangle shares a cruise ship story you won't forget, and the Ancient Greek word that started it all, nausia.
Jason Nangle explains how the Royal Navy command “go astern” slipped ashore in Singapore and Malaysia, and why drivers still use it today.
Did you know “ahoy” was once the favoured way to answer the telephone? Why Alexander Graham Bell backed it, and how “hello” won the battle on land.
