{"id":1946,"date":"2013-03-21T18:13:20","date_gmt":"2013-03-21T18:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lovesail.com\/ls-news\/?p=1946"},"modified":"2026-01-14T10:33:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T10:33:16","slug":"nautical-terms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lovesail.com\/ls-news\/nautical-terms\/","title":{"rendered":"Nautical Terms"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"297\" data-end=\"567\">We use countless phrases in everyday conversation without realising just how many come from the sea. Here\u2019s a small selection of nautical terms and their origins &#8211; for your interest and amusement. Some may be more folklore than fact, so take them with a pinch of salt!<!--more--><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<hr \/>\r\n\r\n<h3 data-start=\"569\" data-end=\"591\">Turn a Blind Eye<\/h3>\r\n<p data-start=\"592\" data-end=\"853\">To <em data-start=\"595\" data-end=\"613\">turn a blind eye<\/em> means to deliberately ignore something. The story goes that in 1801, at the Battle of Copenhagen, Admiral Nelson put his telescope to his blind eye so he would not see the signal to stop firing. He ignored the order &#8211; and won the battle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<hr \/>\r\n\r\n<h3 data-start=\"855\" data-end=\"873\">Feeling Blue<\/h3>\r\n<p data-start=\"874\" data-end=\"1106\">If you\u2019re <em data-start=\"884\" data-end=\"898\">feeling blue<\/em>, you\u2019re echoing an old seafaring custom. When a ship lost its captain or an officer on a voyage, she would return home flying blue flags and painted with a blue stripe along her hull as a sign of mourning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<hr \/>\r\n\r\n<h3 data-start=\"1108\" data-end=\"1124\">Hunky-Dory<\/h3>\r\n<p data-start=\"1125\" data-end=\"1358\">Everything\u2019s <em data-start=\"1138\" data-end=\"1150\">hunky-dory<\/em> when all is fine. The phrase is thought to come from \u201cHoncho-dori,\u201d a street in Yokohama, Japan, known for entertaining visiting sailors. The name became slang for things that were easy-going or enjoyable.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<hr \/>\r\n\r\n<h3 data-start=\"1360\" data-end=\"1375\">Long Shot<\/h3>\r\n<p data-start=\"1376\" data-end=\"1568\">A <em data-start=\"1378\" data-end=\"1389\">long shot<\/em> is something with little chance of success. In the age of sail, cannons were inaccurate beyond close range. Landing a hit from a distance was lucky indeed &#8211; hence, a long shot.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<hr \/>\r\n\r\n<h3 data-start=\"1570\" data-end=\"1586\">I\u2019m Pooped<\/h3>\r\n<p data-start=\"1587\" data-end=\"1827\">To say you\u2019re <em data-start=\"1601\" data-end=\"1609\">pooped<\/em> is to say you\u2019re exhausted. The term comes from the <em data-start=\"1662\" data-end=\"1673\">poop deck<\/em>, the highest deck at the stern. If a ship was swamped by a heavy sea washing over that deck, it was said to have been <em data-start=\"1792\" data-end=\"1800\">pooped, <\/em>overwhelmed and spent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<hr \/>\r\n\r\n<h3 data-start=\"1829\" data-end=\"1850\">Bite the Bullet<\/h3>\r\n<p data-start=\"1851\" data-end=\"2042\">To <em data-start=\"1854\" data-end=\"1871\">bite the bullet<\/em> means facing something unpleasant with courage. Before anaesthetics, soldiers and sailors undergoing surgery were sometimes given a bullet to bite on during the ordeal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<hr \/>\r\n\r\n<h3 data-start=\"2044\" data-end=\"2072\">Show Your True Colours<\/h3>\r\n<p data-start=\"2073\" data-end=\"2331\">This phrase means to reveal your real intentions. Warships once carried flags of different nations and could fly false colours to deceive the enemy. But before opening fire, naval custom demanded a ship hoist its actual ensign, showing its <em data-start=\"2314\" data-end=\"2328\">true colours<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<hr \/>\r\n\r\n<h3 data-start=\"2333\" data-end=\"2361\">No Room to Swing a Cat<\/h3>\r\n<p data-start=\"2362\" data-end=\"2632\">If a place is cramped, there\u2019s <em data-start=\"2393\" data-end=\"2417\">no room to swing a cat<\/em>. The cat wasn\u2019t a feline but the <em data-start=\"2451\" data-end=\"2470\">cat-o\u2019-nine-tails<\/em>, a whip used for flogging. With the whole crew summoned to witness punishment, the deck could be so crowded the whip was hard to swing without striking others.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<hr \/>\r\n\r\n<h3 data-start=\"2634\" data-end=\"2667\">The Sun Is Over the Yardarm<\/h3>\r\n<p data-start=\"2668\" data-end=\"2942\">Said when it\u2019s time for a drink, this term dates back to the days when the sun was observed to pass above the foreyard of a ship around 11 a.m. in northern latitudes. That marked the time for the day\u2019s first rum ration. Today it simply means: it\u2019s a good time for a drink.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<hr \/>\r\n<p data-start=\"2668\" data-end=\"2942\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"9493\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.lovesail.com\/ls-news\/sailing-word-search\/new-logo-2025-main\/#main\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lovesail.com\/ls-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/new-logo-2025-Main.jpg?fit=300%2C70&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"300,70\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Lovesail logo, sailing dating and social network\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lovesail.com\/ls-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/new-logo-2025-Main.jpg?fit=300%2C70&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9493\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lovesail.com\/ls-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/new-logo-2025-Main.jpg?resize=300%2C70&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"lovesail\" width=\"300\" height=\"70\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p data-start=\"2951\" data-end=\"3126\">\u2693 Love the language of the sea? At <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lovesail.com\/\"><strong data-start=\"2986\" data-end=\"2998\">Lovesail<\/strong><\/a>, single sailors connect for dating, friendships, and crewing opportunities. Come aboard and join our sailing community today.<\/p>\r\n<p data-start=\"3128\" data-end=\"3216\"><strong data-start=\"3128\" data-end=\"3149\">Related Articles:<\/strong> <a class=\"decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lovesail.com\/ls-news\/nautical-slang-in-everyday-use\/\" rel=\"noopener\" data-start=\"3150\" data-end=\"3169\">Nautical Slang<\/a> | <a class=\"decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lovesail.com\/ls-news\/nautical-sayings-and-their-origins\/\" rel=\"noopener\" data-start=\"3172\" data-end=\"3193\">Nautical Sayings<\/a> | <a class=\"decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lovesail.com\/ls-news\/sailing-terms\/\" rel=\"noopener\" data-start=\"3196\" data-end=\"3214\">Sailing Terms<\/a><\/p>\r\n<!-- \/wp:post-content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We use countless phrases in everyday conversation without realising just how many come from the sea. Here\u2019s a small selection of nautical terms and their origins &#8211; for your interest and amusement. Some may be more folklore than fact, so take them with a pinch of salt!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2040,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6479],"tags":[6754,278,6756,6753,361,5024,6755],"class_list":["post-1946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-discover","tag-long-shot","tag-nautical-terms","tag-no-room-to-swing-a-cat","tag-pooped","tag-sailing-terms","tag-sailor-sayings","tag-show-your-true-colours"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>From Turn a Blind Eye to Feeling Blue \u2013 Nautical Terms &amp; Sailors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Many phrases we use daily come from nautical terms. From bite the bullet to show your true colours, uncover their origins with Lovesail.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lovesail.com\/ls-news\/nautical-terms\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nautical Terms\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We use countless phrases in everyday conversation without realising just how many come from the sea. 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