A list of 128 words by reesetee.
- scuttlebutt appears on 46 other lists
- taken aback appears on 8 other lists
- brass monkey appears on 4 other lists
- boot camp appears on 3 other lists
- clean bill of health appears on just this list
- three sheets to the wind appears on 10 other lists
- the devil to pay appears on 1 other list
- between the devil and the deep blue sea appears on 9 other lists
- by and large appears on 8 other lists
- the whole nine yards appears on 1 other list
- mind your ps and qs appears on 1 other list
- slush fund appears on 5 other lists
- son of a gun appears on 4 other lists
- go by the board appears on 1 other list
- make headway appears on 1 other list
- in the offing appears on 1 other list
- batten down the hatches appears on just this list
- jury rigged appears on just this list
- at loggerheads appears on 6 other lists
- crewcut appears on 1 other list
- skyscraper appears on 14 other lists
- skylarking appears on 11 other lists
- toe the line appears on 3 other lists
- forge ahead appears on just this list
- pipe down appears on 4 other lists
- waterlogged appears on 4 other lists
- windfall appears on 33 other lists
- the bitter end appears on 1 other list
- catch my drift appears on 1 other list
- chock-a-block appears on 7 other lists
- down the hatch appears on 3 other lists
- from stem to stern appears on just this list
- give leeway appears on just this list
- take one down a peg appears on just this list
- show one's true colors appears on just this list
- shake a leg appears on 3 other lists
- groggy appears on 13 other lists
- halcyon days appears on 7 other lists
- hit the deck appears on 1 other list
- in the doldrums appears on 4 other lists
- mainstay appears on 16 other lists
- on an even keel appears on 1 other list
- on another tack appears on just this list
- keelhaul appears on 28 other lists
- head appears on 60 other lists
- duffle appears on 4 other lists
- lower the boom appears on just this list
- loose cannon appears on 10 other lists
- learn the ropes appears on just this list
- dogwatch appears on 7 other lists
- mayday appears on 9 other lists
- a shot across the bow appears on just this list
- all at sea appears on just this list
- broad in the beam appears on just this list
- cut and run appears on 4 other lists
- get underway appears on 1 other list
- give a wide berth appears on just this list
- hand over fist appears on 5 other lists
- hard and fast appears on 2 other lists
- high and dry appears on 5 other lists
- plain sailing appears on 2 other lists
- on one's beam ends appears on just this list
- shipshape and bristol fashion appears on just this list
- shiver my timbers appears on just this list
- the cut of one's jib appears on just this list
- walk the plank appears on 3 other lists
- plow the raging sea appears on just this list
- brass monkey weather appears on 1 other list
- before the mast appears on just this list
- wine-dark sea appears on 8 other lists
- plow the briny deep appears on just this list
- go down to the sea in ships appears on just this list
- leading light appears on 2 other lists
- take the wind out of one's sails appears on just this list
- aboveboard appears on 26 other lists
- dungarees appears on 19 other lists
- as the crow flies appears on 6 other lists
- booby hatch appears on 5 other lists
- dressing down appears on just this list
- fly-by-night appears on 2 other lists
- no great shakes appears on 2 other lists
- press into service appears on just this list
- under the weather appears on 8 other lists
- know the ropes appears on just this list
- figurehead appears on 19 other lists
- crow's nest appears on 9 other lists
- close quarters appears on just this list
- copper-bottomed appears on 1 other list
- tell it to the marines appears on 1 other list
- no room to swing a cat appears on 1 other list
- over a barrel appears on just this list
- part brass rags appears on just this list
- rummage sale appears on 2 other lists
- sick bay appears on just this list
- squared away appears on just this list
- careen appears on 62 other lists
- great guns appears on just this list
- brightwork appears on 3 other lists
- square meal appears on just this list
- first rate appears on 1 other list
- to make heavy weather appears on just this list
- bring up short appears on just this list
- to turn turtle appears on just this list
- overwhelm appears on 20 other lists
- splice the main brace appears on 3 other lists
- bear down appears on just this list
- buoyed up appears on just this list
- let the cat out of the bag appears on 3 other lists
- clear the deck appears on just this list
- sail close to the wind appears on just this list
- bitter end appears on 6 other lists
- full and by appears on 1 other list
- loaded to the gunwales appears on 2 other lists
- swinging the lamp appears on just this list
- swinging the lead appears on just this list
- touch and go appears on 8 other lists
- to bear low sail appears on just this list
- nail one's colours to the mast appears on just this list
- flagship appears on 9 other lists
- navvy appears on 16 other lists
- mark twain appears on 2 other lists
- shakedown cruise appears on 2 other lists
- steerage appears on 8 other lists
- tide over appears on just this list
- the coast is clear appears on just this list
- full to the gunwales appears on just this list
- the smoking lamp is lit appears on just this list
- the smoking lamp is out appears on just this list

reesetee Sorry, m--somehow I missed your comment until now. Added. :-) Jul 11, 2008
mollusque How about mark twain? Jan 17, 2008
reesetee Nifty! Added. And I changed the list description, since some of the rest of these are also words and not phrases. :-) Dec 31, 2007
chained_bear It isn't a phrase, but see careen. Dec 30, 2007
chained_bear I won't be much help: I will merely, and joyfully and repeatedly, quote "Master and Commander." (The film, not the books.) Dec 28, 2007
reesetee I'll get right on it. Maybe chained_bear can help. She knows all that history stuff. Dec 20, 2007
bilby Start with tears welling up. It should involve the Duke of Wellington, a sea battle with Napoleon and and the acrid smoke of cannon fire bringing causing eyes to weep. And more. Dec 19, 2007
reesetee Bilby, I...I don't know what to say. *tears welling up*
Thanks to you, I feel renewed energy to work on a whole slew of madeupical linguistic urban legends involving sailing ships. Dec 19, 2007
bilby Regarding the apocryphal bit, I read this today in reply to a question about whether the word few originally meant eight, which was apparently the 'correct' answer to a quiz question:
"... your Quizmaster must have matriculated in a parallel universe, because 'few' never meant 'eight,' 'nine,' 'fourteen' or 'five billion,' not even in Old English, where all the truly wacko word origin stories seem to be born. Incidentally, if you ever do catch up with that guy, ask him why there aren't any boats in that story. Anybody knows you can't have a good linguistic urban legend without sailing ships." - www.word-detective.com (my emphasis)
And I thought of you ... isnt' that touching? ;-) Dec 19, 2007
reesetee Thanks, c_b. Still working on this list and trying to get more info for the word pages. :-) Dec 10, 2007
chained_bear Ooh, I didn't know that plow the raging sea or any of those similar phrases meant that. I thought they just meant the act of sailing for a living. Hm.
Also heard someone use the phrase "go by the boards" yesterday and was glad to know it was originally nautical. Cool! Dec 9, 2007
reesetee Thanks, oroboros. That's what I meant--hadn't heard of "plow the briny deep" (or any of the "plow" phrases) as describing an exercise in futility. And thanks again for reminding me of wine-dark sea, which is indeed from Homer. Always loved that phrase.
Sionnach: Good grief! I'm staying home. ;-)
Chained_bear: Thanks. But don't forget, we came up with this list idea almost simultaneously. :-) Dec 6, 2007
chained_bear Oh how I love this list. *sighs*
Yes, sionnach, I think it is Homer. Hence, "In the temple by the moonlight wah de do dah..." (Firesign Theatre) Dec 6, 2007
sionnach Here is some practical advice by the inimitable C.E.C. Weigall, writing for the GIRL'S OWN PAPER, directed to those ladies who would go down to the sea in ships:
seafaring ladies Dec 6, 2007
sionnach The wine-dark sea is originally Homer, I'm pretty sure. Often accompanied by the rosy-fingered dawn.
http://www.indepthinfo.com/articles/wine-dark-sea.shtml Dec 6, 2007
oroboros Hmmm. Not that I'm aware of, other than just plowing the sea being a metaphor for an exercise in futility. The 'wine-dark sea' may be something I remember from one of the Patrick O'Brian novels. 'Go down to the sea in ships' just always sounded strange to me--like, do you mean embarkation or foundering? Dec 5, 2007
reesetee Thanks, guys! Palooka, I've heard that aboveboard has its origin in gambling (keeping one's hands above the table to prove honesty). Oroboros, I'm familiar with the literal meanings of your first two suggestions, but have they taken on non-nautical connotations? Just curious. :-) Dec 2, 2007
palooka Very comprehensive as usual! Others include leading light, take the wind out of his sails, above board. Dec 2, 2007
oroboros 'go down to the sea in ships'
'plow the briny deep'
'the wine-dark sea' Dec 1, 2007
reesetee Thanks, all! Actually, chained_bear and I simultaneously came up with the idea. Creepy. ;-)
Sure, I'll add those, c_b. Some of these are clearly nautical (batten down the hatches, three sheets to the wind), but they're fun anyway. I have more (and some background on all of them)--just have to get to it. Dec 1, 2007
chained_bear Even though you have brass monkey already, may I humbly suggest "brass monkey weather"?
Also I've been hearing plow the raging sea a lot lately, but maybe that's not idiomatic enough. Also it's pretty clearly nautical. Nevermind, I'll shut up now. Been a long day. Dec 1, 2007
bilby Very entertaining. I was ready to walk the plank until I found this list. Dec 1, 2007
sonofgroucho Epic list! Dec 1, 2007
trivet I like the cut of this list's jib, reesetee! Dec 1, 2007