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Nautical metaphors in English
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Thanks to the historical importance of seafaring in British culture, the English language is rich in related metaphors from the age of sail. Some examples are: * I like the cut of your jib * Taken aback * Batten down the hatches * Clear the decks * Loaded to the gunwales * Back and fill * On one's beam ends * Awash * Nail one's colours to the mast * Flying the flag * Plain sailing * With flying colours * In the doldrums * All hands to the pumps * Weathering a storm * A different tack * Swinging the lead * All set * Left high and dry * May the wind always be at your back and may you have following seas * "Clear the Decks!": Possibly derived from an instruction to clear the decks of sailors' personal belongings (where they generally lived) before cannons could be deployed. * "Take soundings": In suspected shallow waters, a crewmember may have the task of repeatedly throwing into the water a lead line, or piece of lead tied to a string knotted every fathom, for the purpose of estimating the depth of the sea. This saying the nautical equivalent of "Take the lay of the land": see how things are going, or see what people think about a proposed course of action. * "Swinging the lead" : Sailors used to get lazy or bored of sounding and playfully swing the lead bob to pass the time. It means to be wasting time, or a time wasting tactic. * "Son of a gun" may have referred to a boy born aboard ship during the age of sail-power. Although technically never allowed, women were not infrequently aboard British ships during at least of their voyages (these women included both wives and prostitutes). One theory holds that "son of a gun" was entered into the official log of the ship in cases of questionable or uncertain paternity. Another theory holds that the guns themselves occasionally aided in the birthing process by "kicking" the bulkhead against a woman's back. This theory holds that any boy born in such a manner was a son of a gun. * "All set" is derived from setting lobster traps, commonly used to denote a completed task. Footnotes Further reading * 
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