8 Sailing Expressions You Use Everyday Without Realising It!

Before I get carried away and change tack I want to show my true colours and start over with a clean slate; it might be a bit touch and go but if we toe the line everything will be above board. Have you ever caught yourself using any of those quirky idioms or expressions? Well, brace yourself for a fascinating revelation: they all trace back to the golden age of sail! Get ready to be amazed as I unveil the origins of 8 common sailing and shipboard expressions that you've been using without even realising it!
00:00 - INTRO
00:51 - Getting Carried Away
02:19 - Changing Tack
02:46 - Main Stay
04:34 - Showing Your True Colours
05:34 - 3 Sheets To The Wind
06:36 - Loggerheads
07:29 - Starting Over With A Clean Slate
08:47 - The Bitter End
09:44 - EPILOGUE
Oceanliner Designs explores the design, construction, engineering and operation of history’s greatest vessels- from Titanic to Queen Mary and from the Empress of Ireland to the Lusitania. Join maritime researcher and illustrator Michael Brady as he tells the stories behind some of history's most famous ocean liners and machines!
#titanic #history #facts #ships #sailors #sailingexpressions #languageofsailors #sailorsslang #sailingterms #seafaring #sailingship #oceanlife #sailingadventure #sailingskills #nauticalterms #sailingjargon #sailorlife #boatlife #sailingcommunity #sailingculture #maritimelanguage #sailingknowledge #sailingvideo #sailingeducation

[@OceanlinerDesigns]

If you know of any other shipboard expressions, feel free to share them in the comments below! I'd be thrilled to create a Part 2 to this video sometime in the future 😊~Mike

[@enginerd1985]

Along the line of "Show your true colors" is a "False Flag" operation, when a war crime is committed by not showing one's true colors. Often, this was seen as a wanton act of piracy.

[@amicaaranearum]

batten down the hatches by and large close quarters cut and run even keel figurehead give a wide berth go overboard high and dry keel over knowing/learning/showing the ropes leeway long haul loose cannon press into service squared away taken aback

[@Sutho81]

Pull Your Finger Out. When a canon had to be fired, a small amount of powder was placed in the end and held in place by a sailors finger. When the order to fire came, they were ordered to pull their finger out.

[@hugh5698]

My friend Mike! Thank the Patrick White books for this one..... Scuttlebut! Where the sailors got there drinnking water from in the heat of battle. A barrell with fresh water. I'll become a member if you shout me out and use this one. You have my word as a Gentleman.

[@alien_marksman]

Why some people refer to the toilet as 'The Head' or 'Visit the Head' ... the place where sailor would relieve themselves was typically on the bow of the ship. Where the Figurehead was, hence "Visit the Head"

[@Phaaschh]

God, what a day its been. No-one would cut me any slack, or give me any leeway. At times, I was between the devil and the deep blue sea. Still, now everything is squared away, and I've cleared my yardarm, with a square meal inside, I can finally moor up and enjoy your latest offering. Hopefully it's not plumbing the depths too much😊 Thanks, Mike

[@TheFirefishe]

Yer Now Inside, Warm, But Flibbideegibbit! Your A Mad Punster, So Now, I Cast... 🐸**Poof** ! 🐸

[@BigAmp]

Next time if the going gets heavy you can heave to for a while, until things ease up. You could possibly splice the main brace whilst waiting.

[@garywait3231]

Delightful use of some more idioms based on nautical expressions. I hope Mike will do another video based on the ones you've so creatively employed.

[@Pocketfarmer1]

@@BigAmpsplicing the main brace seems to be more of a reverse engineered thing of nautical words being employed for a less organic euphemism. It was created in more modern times for the yachty crowd.

[@vibratingstring]

@@Pocketfarmer1 also yardarm sounds lubberly, I say yard.

[@DameMitHermelin]

I know it's "Oceanliner Designs" but let me tell you how glad I am that you're touching onto the Age of Sail as well! I'm a traditional sailor, obviously know all my sheets and stays etc., but English isn't my first language, and so I learned some idioms today 😹

[@JavaBum]

This is his worst example. He doesn't fuck up facts this badly, when facts are there to be had. Stay with him, because the rest good times.

[@snapdragon6601]

Didn't that have Oceanliners in the age of said too? (Small ones I mean) Or did they not really exist until the age of steam ships burning coal?

[@wingmanjim6]

What are you speaking of ? As a long time sailor and amateur student of maritime history, I found no errors in this presentation.@@JavaBum

[@ALCO-C855-fan]

Hopefully remaining a... MAIN STAY.😎

[@majortom4543]

This is why hes our Friend Mike Brady

[@natebullis353]

US Navy sailor here! Can confirm we still refer to the end of a rope or anchor chain as the “bitter end”

[@SSN515]

I always called it the "Untimely Doom". Pizzed off the Chief Boats, but I was a Pit Snipe doing linehandling during refueling.

[@tonycook7679]

The bitter end is the end of the line that is turned around a winch. You must hang onto the bitter end so that the winch can hold onto the line when you are winching it in.

[@rickmorgan8856]

line, not rope on a ship

[@UguysRnuts]

@@tonycook7679 Sorry Tony, but that is incorrect. The end one would wrap around the drum of a winch (known as a gypsy) would be the "running" or "working" end for obvious reasons. You're "running" it around the gypsy.

[@UguysRnuts]

@@rickmorgan8856 Not quite. Every line has a specific name. The one used to raise the sail is a "Halyard". For pulling it in, the "sheet". For stretching it out, the "outhaul" or "clew" and for pulling it down, the "downhaul" or "tack". There ARE three "ropes" on a ship: the "man rope" for pulling oneself aboard, the "bellrope" attached to the clanger and the "foot ropes" on which sailors stood while furling or loosing canvas.

[@Uncle_Roadkill]

I like big sterns and I can not lie, you other mateys can't deny!

[@MaryClareVideos]

I like funnels way too much. 🚢

[@InventorZahran]

Oh Sally, she's a pretty little craft, Hot shot to the fore and a rounded aft!

[@nickmiller76]

Are buxom women ever described nowadays as being "Dutch built" I wonder?

[@efnissien]

Captain Rhum?

[@alexw.7097]

Hey Mike! As someone fairly new to Maritime history in general, I'd really love to see a video on the Scrapping of ships. I understand it's probably kind of a sad topic for those of you who feel special connections with these ships, but I suppose it's sort of part of the circle of life for most ships, and I'd really like to know more. For instance, when a ship is sold for scrap: -Who buys them? -Where are they taken for scrapping? -What does it really entail/how exactly do you scrap something as large as say, a four stacker ocean liner?? (Especially given that many shipyards had to create expanded areas to build ships that big in the first place.) -And maybe a pick me up for the end of the video, what gets done with the materials after a ship is scrapped? Thank you so much, have a lovely rest of your day, Cheers!

[@OceanlinerDesigns]

I'll look into it! Thanks for the suggestion :)

[@lab1042]

Quite a few end up in India (Alang Ship Breaking Yard) and Bangladesh (Chittagong Ship Breaking Yard)

[@benderbendingrodriguez420]

I've always wondered this myself, just never pursued any answers

[@MrAronRobinson]

I agree with you, a ship going for scrap is a good thing, it’s what supposed to happen at the end of it’s natural life, and much better than the alternative ways of it ending it’s life (sinking, being bombed etc.). To me, a ship going for scrap is like a person dying of natural old age, rather than being in a accident or having a horrible disease. It’s why ‘The Fighting Temeraire’ by Turner is a grand painting, not a sad one.

[@CallMeMrChainmail]

I've looked into this before and the only thing I found is that ships from WW1 & WW2, pre-A-bomb, have been butchered on the ocean floor to use the steel in MRI machines because the iron isn't contaminated with radioactive fallout that would affect the sensitivity of the machine. Beyond that it seems that ships just sort of get arbitrarily assigned as either target practice for a navy, scuppered to create a "marine environment" (read; we couldn't be bothered to deal with this) or they hang around until a breaker makes a scrap value offer. I never looked into who was doing it though because I was more caught up with the notion that "Surely, surely it can't be cheaper to sink it than do an engine swap and sell it? SOMEONE in the world must want to buy a big boat." If I were a billionaire and could buy a party yacht or convert an old oil tanker into the Independent Citadel of Partystan I know which one I would choose.

[@tenaciousrodent6251]

Thanks for showing us the ropes!

[@noeatnosleep]

I have no idea why this video isn't as popular as your titanic stuff. This is some of your best work. I know it isn't as scholarly or in depth, but it's well researched and presented.

[@jamesc.4419]

As a young man I was a deckhand for many years aboard the Tall-ship.. ..Argus.. a chartere-square-rigger used for education and seamanship purposes ..out of Newport Beach, Ca. How much I loved being underway with sails dropped ..being high up in the rigging… my favorite was the crows-nest on high seas… what a ride…. Hahahahaha..! What memories you brought back. James Crimi

[@Mctabbycat]

Mike Brady is a dashing rogue

[@vibratingstring]

Noice!

[@debbiejarus1723]

I sailed a small boat at a yacht club in Cleveland, Ohio, and this video brought back some funny memories! I can't begin to tell you how many times we had greenhorns aboard who had no idea what we were talking about. Tack, jibe, sheets. Etc were totally foreign to them. They looked like deer in the headlights. It was very amusing......but not when trying to win a race!! Fabulous video, Mike!

[@vibratingstring]

I grew up sailing before I could talk, so when BeeGees came out with Jive Talking, I thought they were saying "Jibe talking."

[@eliasthienpont6330]

Raise the top sheet and spanker.

[@williamwalsh1399]

Or like the skipper who took out some newbies. The sail boat got caught by a strong gust so he yelled "dump dump" . They gave him a terrified look and proceeded to jump over the side.

[@UguysRnuts]

@@williamwalsh1399 I was afraid you were about to say they defecated on deck.

[@debbylou5729]

Smug and pretentious, those apply

[@yknott9873]

"Learning the ropes" - as you mentioned, sailing ships were a mass of ropes - and when the crew was "turned-out" of their hammocks to deal with a sudden squall, one that could dismast the ship and leave them stranded at sea, drifting into the doldrums and running out of water ("horse latitudes", from areas of windless sea being carpeted with the floating corpses of horses enroute to markets in America from old-world breeders, but the wind had deserted the ship to where fresh water was running short and the crew would toss the horses overboard so what little water was left, went to them), it was absolutely vital that every crewmember rushes to the correct rope and hauls-on that one (not the one beside it), the correct amount and in the correct direction. So every new sailor, in the process of learning to "hand, reef and steer", had to learn all the ropes on a ship; where they were and what they did. And of course they'd have to "belay" their "skylarking" and pay attention to their lessons, which took about a year - but if they did a good job of it, they might be told to "splice the mainbrace"!

[@ThePrincessSabrina]

As a linguist who has always loved the ocean, I absolutely loved this video. I must say that I was surprised “an even keel “ was not mentioned!. 10:08

[@laratheplanespotter]

HERE FOR THIS! My fav has to be 3 sheets to the wind. Love it Mike! lol

[@vibratingstring]

I say 4 sheets when someone is completely blotto. Or even 5.

[@martinsuter3531]

Here's another one for you. I'm retired now, but when I was a long distance truck driver and my dispatcher would give me a time critical rush load that absolutely needed to be delivered on time, he'd often tell me to "Put her in the wind!".

[@apexxxx10]

*”I drive like the wind” Jack Nicholson in “As Good as it Gets”*

[@williamromine5715]

I am always amazed about how complicated it was to work the sails. The number of lines used on those large sailing ship boggles the mind. The thought of having climb up to the sails in heavy weather is beyond belief. I am 82, and only recently discovered you channel. I find it very informative, educational and a pleasure to watch.

[@PercyPruneMHDOIFandBars]

The phrase, "show a leg" is also naval in origin. In the Navy, sailors were rarely allowed ashore. So when they reached port, the ladies of negotiable affection came aboard. When it came time to sail, the cry would be "show a leg" to see if hammocks were occupied by hairy sailors or not hairy ladies! I think someone else has mentioned the brass monkey phrase, caused by the different expansion rates of brass and iron, but, being "taken aback" is another. The UKs flag is commonly known as the "Union Jack" technically, that's only correct when it's flown from the jack stay, which is part of a ships' rigging. I think it's great that our rich maritime heritage is still reflected in the English language. Thanks for sharing a fascinating video!

[@vibratingstring]

Nice on taken aback! And brass monkey and freezing come to mind but now I have an earworm from some past 20 years ago song about funky monkeys

[@peterdurnien9084]

I am led to believe that women were once allowed to sail on RN ships and the command show a leg was to allow ladies 5 more minutes in kip.

[@PercyPruneMHDOIFandBars]

​@@peterdurnien9084Only certain women were allowed to sail on Navy ships. Usually the wife of the carpenter or bosun. Generally, they were only allowed aboard whilst in port, for "morale" purposes. The call "show a leg" came to make sure there were no women still aboard when leaving harbour.

[@PercyPruneMHDOIFandBars]

​@@vibratingstringThe brass monkeys were the racks used to store cannonballs on deck. They were made of brass, the balls were iron. In very cold weather, the two metals contract at different rates meaning the balls would fall off!

[@alganhar1]

@@peterdurnien9084 In addition to an above comment, the wives of all the permanent crew of the ship were allowed aboard, not just the Bosun and carpenter. Usually after each voyage the majority of the crew, including the officers were 'paid off', including the Captain, usually to go onto other ships. The permanent crew were the bosun, carpenter, gunner, master, sailmaker, and depending on time period the purser and one or two of the other senior what we would call NCO's these days, specifically they were the Warrant Officers. They were the only members of the crew permanently assigned to the ship in question. If a ship was placed into ordinary (put into reserve) it was the permanent crew who would stay with her to maintain her. It was not unusual for these NCO's to stay with the same ship they were awarded their warrant for for the rest of their careers. In addition a few other women were allowed aboard, though it was rarely done, generally the wives or/and daughters of the senior officers of the crew, generally the Captain and occasionally the 1st officer. Should a ship have to beat to quarters the women were generally employed on the Orlop Deck with the surgeon Partly because it was good for morale, partly because it was one of the safest places on a ship in the event of battle. I mean, its literally one of the reasons the Surgeon was stationed there....

[@DB-thats-me]

I’m amazed how chock-a-block with old yarns this post is. But, bye and large, you’ve showed a good leg. 👍

[@garywait3231]

As a historian and linguist, I have always been fascinated by the origin of words and phrases. As such, I thoroughly enjoyed your delightful presentation -- which I watched to the, by no means "bitter" end, the one expression whose origin was new to me. Thanks for yet another informative and delightful video.

[@williamreynolds1163]

Very good .Didnt know many of these .But a few others are (which i know you will be doing). Loose cannon/copper bottomed/ even keel/square meal/first-second etc rate.

[@UguysRnuts]

Never heard "copper bottomed" used to describe anything other than the literal, a copper sheathed hull intended to protect the wood from the Toredo worms which attack it like termites.

[@thatguyfromcetialphaV]

If you watch Star Trek TOS or especially Wrath of khan, the nautical feel and terminology is so obvious you can't miss it. And it's great. The expression 'Rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic' doesn't need any explanation :D

[@tinymetaltrees]

He tasks me. He tasks me and I shall have him! I'll chase him round the moons of Nebia, round the Antares maelstrom, round Perdition's Flame before I give him up!

[@AedanEriks]

well the ships name is Enterprise and i thought that it was a "navy" ship

[@thatguyfromcetialphaV]

@@tinymetaltrees KHAAAAAANNNNN!!!!!!!

[@DKrueger1994]

Heard that one from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 "Ramirez! You're polishing brass on the Titanic!"

[@UguysRnuts]

@@DKrueger1994 My Grandfather was Harland & Wolff's chief metallurgist, responsible for casting all of Titanic's bronze.

[@williamswenson5315]

It's difficult to remain aloof, amid the flotsam and jetsam of lubbery life when a new Oceanliner Design episode comes to the fore. I'll just cut and run now...

[@UguysRnuts]

Flotsam is stuff from a ship floating in the ocean accidentally. Jetsam is stuff deliberately thrown overboard. Cut and run refers to fleeing an attack by cutting one's anchor rode instead of taking the time to haul it in.

[@charlesolson9019]

Another one is "taken aback", which has been mentioned a few times in the comments without mention of its origin. It originally referred to getting your ship nearly straight into the wind, such that your sails get filled from the wrong side and are suddenly plastered against the masts, bringing your vessel to a sudden and ignominious halt.

[@tortle285]

I love this kind of video digging into the depth of maritime culture and it’s effect on other parts of life. Wonderful job!!

[@EmilyLongtin]

Love this! Clean slate is one that is attributed to so many origins. I learned it from the Latin tabula rasa (literally a clean wax tablet), but the internet also says it's from wiping a white board clean in school. I'd never heard the nautical origin story before!

[@UguysRnuts]

That should teach you not to trust the internet.

[@MrShadow-qz9xj]

A surprising amount of saying we use come from the military as well. "Balls to the wall" for example; though not a sailing term, originated from early fighters. Their throttles had ball shaped handles, and putting balls to the wall referred to going to full speed, which put the balls toward the front wall of the cockpit.

[@allangibson8494]

And “the whole nine yards” from the length is of a machine gun ammunition belt.

[@UguysRnuts]

@@allangibson8494 Again, I disagree. A fully rigged ship had nine yards on which the sails were set. Full speed is sails set on all nine.

[@allangibson8494]

@@UguysRnuts A fully rigged ship has way more than nine yards. Nine yardarms is the absolute minimum required to make a fully rigged ship a ship.

[@GerardMenvussa]

I would never have guessed what "3 sheets to the wind" means. You truly are... a lifesaver :)

[@SaturnCanuck]

Mr. Brady that was great. I love the origin of words and you have excelled today. I can't wait for Part 2

[@steenbronkegmail1]

There is a word in Danish that in the Viking Age meant hole, but today has a completely different meaning, but still related to the original meaning of the word. The word is "Røv" (roev) which means hole. The hole that is alluded to is on a Viking ship where you put a stick so that you could lash the lap to the sail. The word "Røv" in everyday Danish means ass and you also say it in conjunction with hole, ass-hole, so you say hole hole.

[@vibratingstring]

Interesting because we reeve a line....I think this must be some related words across germanic languages.

[@UguysRnuts]

There's another sailing word for hole in English slang which refers to a slit shaped incision as found in a rope eye or buttonhole. In recent times it has been reduced to "cut". As in a "cu*t splice".

[@TurtleMoonTube]

​@@vibratingstring Do you mean heave a line?

[@TurtleMoonTube]

😂

[@peytonbarber9983]

How fascinating I hope to see more sailing content, I’ve always been impressed by the skill of those who crewed those beautiful vessels.

[@MrShadow-qz9xj]

Refering to flags as colors, is not antiquated. At least the Canadian Military still refer to the group carrying the flags in a parade as a color party. When they call for the color party, they call March on the colors.

[@Vingul]

When I hear "Canada", "parade" and "color party" I'd think of something different.. though I wouldn't be surprised in the least if the Canadian military does fly the rainbow flag. The Americans do.

[@j_taylor]

In the US we have "color guards" and in the UK they also have "Trooping the Colours."

[@geraldfitzgut]

As a Canadian you should know how to spell “colour”. Don’t sound like a Canadian to me, sorry. How do you pronounce “z”? Thought so.

[@j_taylor]

@@geraldfitzgut Bro literally trying to gatekeep a nationality. 🤣 Don't ever go to Québec.

[@UguysRnuts]

@@geraldfitzgut You're right, of course, but being unable to spell is the least of Canadian's problemas.

[@stephenbrown1077]

Hi Mike, I actually love the origins of sayings, and your video has come up with some great examples. Love the diversity of your videos, keep em coming. Always look forward to your next iteration.

[@georgegunner3858]

Another good one is “cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey” comes from the brass stand that they used to stack cannonballs on

[@nickmiller76]

A popular but bogus folk etymology I'm afraid.

[@UguysRnuts]

@@nickmiller76 I disagree.

[@HrLBolle]

I think It would be interesting to shine a light on how these where carried over the dry trade routes and how these and those mixed

[@Commander-McBragg]

Pure genius Mike!

[@nanabutner]

Your programs are so interesting as well as fun. Thank you.

[@charlesbryant5649]

I went to the Dolly Shop and everything was Ship Shape and Bristol Fashion including the woman serving who was Round at the Counter and Bluff at the Bow. Shiver me timbers! On a different note, I am sure you have heard of Culvert's rules for avoiding collision at sea; but I can't find any reference out there in web land. I copied mine from Reeds Nautical Almanac (now theres a book and a half)

[@Tom-kp2lv]

Love "Ship Shape and Bristol Fashion"!

[@vibratingstring]

And Bristol of course tip of hat to Cap't Nat!

[@UguysRnuts]

@@vibratingstring The Bristol referred to is the second largest port in England. Nathaniel Herreshoff was from Bristol, Rhode Island and has nothing to do with the expression, "Bristol Fashion".

[@Feline_Frenzy53]

Very fascinating, Mike. I love learning where expressions come from.

[@ginasreview1030]

Can I just say I LOVED the background music, took me back in time. Much love always from Brasil. 🖤🖤

[@efnissien]

'Between the Devil & The deep blue sea' (to have two equally bad options) The Devil was actually the centre plank of the deck (so called as it was 'a devil' to lay during shipbuilding), I've hears it said that it's a reference to laying the deck - do you start from the scuppers and work inward, until you reach the centre? - meaning you only have to shape 'the devil' (hence it's name) or do you lay 'the devil' first and work outwards (meaning you've two sets of planks to shape). 'Not enough room to swing a cat', (A Cramped area), Not enough room to swing the 'cat o' nine tails on a hapless crewmate. 'To let the cat out of the bag' - (To reveal a secret) If you saw the bosun taking the cat o' nine tails out of the bag you knew some crewmember was due to be lashed. 'To turn a blind eye', (to ignore something) From Nelson, when ordered not to engage French ships if seen, when told by a crewmember French ships had been sighted, he held his spyglass to his blind eye and said "Ships? I see no ships!" 'Tapping the Admiral', (To sneak a sly drink) Legend has it that following his death at Trafalgar, it was realized Nelson would be a national hero and his remains were to be preserved for a state funeral. So His remains were loaded into a cask of brandy (this caused outrage, as the public believed rum was more appropriate)to preserve them. However, according to the legend, Nelson nearly suffered the fate of many of Darwin's samples at the hands of parched sailors... When the Cask was opened to retrieve Nelson's remains, the cask held substantially less alcohol than it did when he was interred within!. (In reality, the cask was lashed to the mainmast and put under armed guard). 'Groggy', (to be disorientated) On the subject of Rum, Rum and beer were rationed to the Royal Navy into the 1970's, but originally it was added to water to sterilize water that may have been in casks for months. This was know as 'Grog' - if you drank too much you got 'Groggy'. 'Pressganged', (When you've been 'persuaded' to enter into an endeavor) From the notorious pressgangs that roamed the bars of ports 'recruiting' unemployed fishermen or sailors. 'Up to the gunwhales' (Pronounced 'Gunnels' - when you're so busy you're almost overwhelmed.) The Gunwhales are the very top of the guardrail on a ship, if the water is up to that, then you're out of options and even the most efficient pump in the world (A scared sailor with a bucket) ain't going to save you. Not quite in the vein but as the Royal Marines are Royal Navy - 'Go tell the Marines' because Marines were so well travelled, if someone told an unbelievable tale, if it was believed by a Marine then there must be some truth in it. Again with the Marines "Bootnecks" (UK) and "Leathernecks" (US) At one time the Royal Marines had a leather collar on their tunic, and got them the nickname, this was later adopted by the USMC. The Marines were quartered between the officers and men to prevent mutiny and the collar was said to be to prevent them getting their throats cut as they slept. 'Up the creek' (To be in a dire situation) The Creek refers to Haslar lake and Gosportcreek, just outside Portsmouth. Wounded sailors would be taled to the Royal Navy Hospital Haslar on a spit of land guarded on the landward side by Marines. Back in the Napoleonic period, hospital hygiene left a lot to be desired and communicable diseases spread rapidly through the wards. So many saw going to Haslar as a death sentence. 'A square meal' (A decent meal) back to the pressgangs I'm afraid, not all those 'pressganged' were involuntary. Some were hard up cases, and joined to get a guaranteed meal three times a day (Which in Napoleon's Navy was 6000 calories per day). Which were served on a square plate.

[@UguysRnuts]

I'm sorry but you are wrong about the "devil and the deep blue sea". The devil refers to the seam between OUTERMOST plank in the ship's deck and the hull planking, not the central one, and it means the only thing between the sailor and sea is the thickness of the hull. The innermost, or middle plank was called the "Kingplank", just as the central spoke in the ships wheel was the "Kingspoke".

[@Rockpirate101]

Wow you upload at some strange times Mike. lol oh well who isn’t down for a cheeky ocean liner designs video at 1am ❤

[@vibingwithvinyl]

It was uploaded at 4pm where I live, so perfect time really.

[@jooei2810]

Time zones, how do they work? 🤣

[@lakrids-pibe]

The video was released around noon Central European Time. Not particularly crazy when you look at it from here.

[@xr88yu]

0030 here in Australia.

[@shibasurfing]

It was released in the morning in the US. That and in the evening in the US are the best times to release videos.

[@_SimpleJack_]

You never fail to produce interesting and enlightening content, keep up the good work mate!

[@ladydi4runner]

Yes, Please a Part Two! Always been fascinated by anything nautical and so Lighthouses are part of it too! Learned so many new ones here. Really enjoy your narration style and everything I’ve learned here so far. Excellent video! Don’t mind me, just got carried away, was all! 😇😆😎

[@susanwoodard9655]

Great Video!! We Love listening to your well spoken information!! Thanks from Walt and Sue in Michigan ❤

[@fw-190]

In french we have an expression, it is "bon vent"(good wind), to wish someone a good travel or to f*** off (depends the context)

[@major__kong]

In English, sometimes we say bon voyage :-)

[@sailingvesperonthechesapea8111]

Mike, What a great episode! I’m a sailor on the Chesapeake Bay (see my KZbin channel) and it was amusing to hear the sailing origins of some common words and phrases. But when sailing, even today, we still use many of those same words and phrases. Fair winds and following seas!

[@tedmiles2110]

I am pleased to see the main stay mentioned as well as pictures of the steel ship Balclutha. Also some of the later ships had iron and steel masts. Even they could break in a dismasting, as in the case of the iron ship Wavertree. TM retired but still follows sailing ships.

[@jasonstinson1767]

Great video idea mike

[@WildStar2002]

I'm glad you included "three sheets to the wind" - my personal favorite maritime expression! ⛵

[@edwardwheat8368]

I love using the term "a loose cannon"!

[@arnesahlen2704]

Said before, say again: you have a wonderful voice. Measured, expressive speech too - and that cool Aussie🇦🇺 accent of yours... this Canuck🇨🇦 thinks it superb.

[@aggonzalezdc]

The opening using every sailing expression in one sentence was very nicely done. Chef's kiss, no notes.

[@generolmatt4]

Very nice. I didn't realize some of these were sailing terms. I also have never heard of some of these. Great video. You definitely do a great job thank you for your regular videos and intriguing content.

[@DeanStephen]

Excellent subject!

[@monty9463]

I wrote once before that im not really interested in boats or ships but this channel is superbly informative and a great joy to watch. Just goes to show how a great strongly knowledgeable presenter can make a topic enthralling❤

[@clairednicholls]

Fun video 🙂 Pretty please, can we have a video on the ocean liners engineered by Isambard Brunel? Surely the SS Great Western and SS Great Britain with their sails and steam, of course along with the story of the mighty SS Great Eastern would make for a marvelous video by our friend from Oceanliner Designs - @MikeBrady 😉 Much love from Toowoomba Queensland.

[@thelittlehooer]

"Godspeed" "Cold enough to freeze the ball off of a brass monkey" or "Ship-shape and Bristol Fashon" are my favourites, I use them regularly. Have you ever done a video on the movie Masrer and Commander (2003) and the Patrick O'Brien novels? There is a wealth of facinating details in both and many books have been written about them and the Great Age Of Sail. My favourite is Lobscouse And Spotted Dog about cooking abord ship in that era.

[@hrmnzdmatryoshka]

Having big thoughts about how interconnected the world is and how language evolves… amazing video

[@jasonp.1195]

Fascinating, this kind of vocabulary trivia is always so much fun to run across. Some great ones in here.

[@tomkroebel4936]

May your channel have always fair winds and following seas!

[@ziggurat-builder8755]

We appreciate your committment to the fashion of the day. A nice professional touch!

[@johnpauljones9244]

I really enjoyed this. Thanks for that Mike.

[@FranssensM]

Cheers Mike, I enjoyed this one, and as others have said I like that you broadened out to the time of sail. We thirst for knowledge Mike Brady.

[@timprussell]

Great video, it can be amazing to realize how many terms we use come from the age of sail and seafaring in general. Considering how much of civilization developed along waterways and oceans maybe it shouldn’t be as amazing. Weirdly while not a nautical term the other day I ran across the term tinder box used in a sci-fi book. The use of tinder boxes was replaced with matches by the mid-1800’s yet almost 2 centuries later the term meaning of course something containing easily set alight items is still in use and understood by many.

[@UguysRnuts]

Tinder is kindling, not matches and not replaced by anything. You can't light a campfire without tinder.

[@jetblackjoy]

Oh my, ships AND linguistics in one video. What a treat!

[@paulmurray1934]

Love your videos mike. Keep up the great work. Also cant whait for grand voyage

[@matikramer9648]

🙂 Thank you for enlightening ❤

[@adiemuller5422]

I love these! Some I'd heard before, but I was really surprised by "The Bitter End"

[@jetsons101]

This shows, we can learn something new every day......

[@infidelgastro]

Very interesting and informative. I was aware that the vast amount of sayings that we use on the daily do have their origins in our wind powered past but I learned a few new ones today

[@UguysRnuts]

With all the wind generators out there destroying the landscape, it seems "wind powered" doesn't just describe the past.

[@nthgth]

Never heard "changing tack," "loggerheads," or "three sheets to the wind" before, but I remember "tack" mentioned a time or two in _Pirates of the Caribbean._ Very interesting all the same. Love this channel's usual maritime content, but I also love language and especially etymology, so this is a special treat!

[@Xamry]

The music you choose for these vids is always so exquisite 😁

[@richardsweeney197]

In the Royal Yacht Squadron £100 Cup Race around the Isle of Wright in 1851, where the Yacht America from the New York Yacht Club won the race. They had modified it when she got to England. Her jib on the bow sprit was extended. During the race, she was fairly slow compared to her voyage form New York. At one point, she went bow down into a wave. When she came up, her extention had been "carried away", from that point on. America picked up speed and won the race.

[@vibratingstring]

She had too much lee helm haha

[@UguysRnuts]

My understanding of America's victory was based on it switching to light cotton sails for the race after crossing the Atlantic using heavy flax, sea-going sails.

[@orca4715]

Ship shape and Bristol fashion.

[@julieputney4317]

This was a fun episode!

[@davidmussack4529]

Thank you so much. I love word origins.

[@Nanakoglasgow]

that was amazing, i learned

[@markam306]

Great topic. My favorite descriptive nautical term is ‘loose cannon’. After stepping onto the gun deck of the USS Constellation in Baltimore, it became terrifyingly apparent how much damage a gun carriage on rollers, holding several tons of cannon, would do rolling out of control in heavy seas. Utter disaster and carnage. Definitely gives a powerful visual to the phrase. ‘Slackers’ were resented for not helping pull on heavy ropes. They were caught when slack was observed in the rope between them and their mates. ‘Three squares a day’ was the ration, hard square biscuits were cooked on a cast iron wood stove. New sailers had to ‘learn the ropes’, which could include the name and function of all lines on a ship, as well as how to tie many different knots, lashing, repairing sails, etc.

[@lindsayheyes925]

Ooh, you just brought up a square meal.

[@UguysRnuts]

I'd love to know what a loose "canon" is? More of a schism in the church than an unsecured weapon on a slanted deck.

[@markam306]

@@UguysRnuts fixed

[@BillHalliwell]

G’day Mike, I’ve been an enthusiastic student of interesting English words and their origins for almost as long as I could read. Years ago, I started to discover that, literally, hundreds of words; item names and phrases came to us from the earliest days of seafaring, sailing ships and naval jargon. My career path, as a young man, led me into the RAAF. Very soon after enlisting I began to realise that the language of aircraft, apart from being influenced by French terms, was also heavily peppered* with naval and seafaring terminology. (BTW: pepper was widely used to preserve food at sea - or used to hide bad tastes in old “rations” or “victuals”.) In the air force, food taken “onboard” was referred to as “rations”. Just the same as groups of ships in naval forces, military aircraft group in “squadrons”. You find yourself moving through an aircraft by going "fore" and "aft"; port or starboard. The positions of twin aircraft engines also bare the port or starboard positions. Four engines; well then, one has “inboard” and “outboard” powerplants. Aircraft, especially in the earliest days of military service were referred to as “ships”, some older aircraft, even today, can be known as ships or kites. The ‘driver’ of an aircraft is, of course, known as a “pilot”. As in the maritime context, the pilot can be either the main helmsman or the specialist local guide who takes control of a vessel or advises a “Captain” who is not familiar with the saftest course into and out of a port or other marine hazard. Air’craft’, of course, often land or take off from air’ports’. It is still not old fashioned to refer to the “captain” of an aircraft as a “skipper”, both maritime terms. Just like vessels, aircraft can be either “cargo”, “freighter” or “passenger” planes or a mix of both uses. So, Mike, there’s just the tip of the iceberg of how aircraft have taken on seagoing terms as they developed. I’d give you some more but I’m off to the “head”, sometimes known in the old days as the “can” (in the earliest days of flight, it was probably “the bottle”) but we won’t go there... unless we have to... 😉 Cheers, and thanks for another great video. Bill H. P.S. While I’m on the subject of aircraft. One of my all-time pet peeves comes from those many people, who really should know better, who put an ‘s’ at the end of the word “aircraft”. I’ve even seen this in magazines etc. about flying and aircraft. TV and radio journalists, presenters etc. make this mistake all the time. I see this so often on KZbin and elsewhere I have a comment waiting in my files to rapidly set the record straight; it goes like this: Unlike “ships” and “vessels”, the addition of an ‘s’ to the word “aircraft” is incorrect. The word “aircraft” should be used for both plural and singular contexts. In English it is one of those words called singularia-tantum nouns or irregular plurals like “sheep” and “fish”. BH

[@randelbrooks]

wonderful really enjoyed it with excellent visuals

[@DonnaLee4]

I got introduced to my love of ships through the Age Of Sail, Patrick O'Brian, and the HMS Surprise! So this is cool! AOS woo!⛵️

[@dca73]

REALLY great video Mike. Amazing how often we use these terms in every day language without realizing they were originally nautical terms

[@tgdomnemo5052]

Thank You so much for this 🖖🏼

[@scottlewisparsons9551]

Hi Mike, thank you for another very interesting video. From Sydney

[@OmegaPaladin144]

Excellent video. This kind of quality content is why I subscribed, despite not really being into ocean liners. I have an idea for a video - do a video on ship's horns. How they were developed, liners that had exceptional sound, when horns were sounded, etc.

[@pokiishere-sebastian2126]

Very interesting! Thanks!

[@CarlottaVance]

Another informative video - good to see you've "nailed your colours to the mast"!

[@philtkaswahl2124]

I actually did know most of these as sailing related in some way, except the last two. Interesting explanations for the latter.

[@radio63]

Very enjoyable and informative video! Now I know where some of those sayings come from. Keep up the great work!

[@poissonCHA1]

man, I live for your videos.

[@kaneki-ken96]

This is a true interesting English lesson 📖

[@Electriceye1984bySam]

I like this video please continue a series👌🏻👍🏻

[@gerardskippon3099]

Brilliant. Always interested in where our language comes from. Thank you

[@yoyomackus]

"by and large," a good list. Ho ho! Another sailing phrase!

[@patrickhavice4541]

This video is great! I'm really glad to see you branching out into the history around ocean travel. You do such a great job at sharing information! That said, I was scratching my head about why so many sailing terms are in use in the language today, but it makes sense, considering England spent centuries building a naval empire... It's no wonder so much of the language comes from those days

[@UguysRnuts]

You have to remember, sailing was the leading edge of transportation technology not that very long ago and as such the nomenclature became au courant.

[@reallyseriously7020]

This is great, more please!

[@Mockingbird_Taloa]

This was neat! One minor nitpick--"clean slate" in English could also be tied to the Latin phrase "tabula rasa," which essentially means the same thing ("blank tablet") but refers to the beeswax tabulae folx used for quick notes. It's neat it has a specific meaning in sailing history, but I don't think it's quite a "sailing expression" per se.

[@robertstallard7836]

I tend to agree. Slates were used everywhere, from the classroom to keeping your "tab" at the tavern. It could just as well apply to a schoolboy wiping his slate clean of previous mistakes to start again working out a problem, someone paying off their bar bill, or a host of other similar circumstances.

[@SamJunior21]

I love this video!

[@secretarykilkennychoir7137]

Forestay and Mainstay. The mainstay is more substantial as it is aft of the mast and takes far more pressure. I understood the bitter to be fixed to the keel at the bottom of the anchor chain locker. A few more for you:- "At sizes and sevens", "Son of a gun", "Shown/Knows the ropes", "Bristol fashion", "Clear the decks", "Chance your arm", "Port Out Starboard Home" and canon balls were stacked on a circular brass dish called a 'monkey'. At very low temperatures the brass shrunk sufficiently for the iron balls to roll off.

[@pigpig252]

I'm glad I was waylaid watching this!