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When a Loose Cannon Flogs a Dead Horse There's the Devil to Pay: Seafaring Words in Everyday Speech | 
 enlarge | Author: Olivia A. Isil
Publisher: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press
Category: Book
List Price: $10.95
Buy New: $4.68
You Save: $6.27 (57%)
New (20) Used (26) Collectible (1) from $2.08
Avg. Customer Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 496141
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 154
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 6.9 x 0.5
ISBN: 0070328773
Dewey Decimal Number: 422.0883875
EAN: 9780070328778
ASIN: 0070328773
Publication Date: April 1, 1996
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New and Factory Sealed Item Fast Shipping
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Have you ever wondered about the origin of "son of a gun," "flotsam and jetsam," or "hunky-dory"? You'll find the nautical derivation of these expressions and more than 250 others in this collection of nautical metaphors and colloquialisms. In addition, this book includes thought-provoking and entertaining examples of these words drawn from literature, movies, and song, and contains sections of legends of the sea and weather lore. Fascinating reading for sailors and language enthusiasts alike. Here's the scuttlebutt: Barge right in and swallow the anchor, and let's chew the fat and splice the main brace 'til we're three sheets to the wind. Listen, you son of a sea cook, I'm tired of minding my P's and Q's. I tell you, I'm all at sea, and this is the bitter end. Nothing I can do will keep this ship on an even keel. Hells bells! You think I didn't tell it to the old man? Delivered a broadside, I did, but he just called me a loose cannon. Maybe I caught him between wind and water. Listen, mate. You'd better bootleg a bible aboard. We're sailing under false colors, and where we're headed it's cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey. It's Davy Jones' locker I'm talking about. The crew was scraped from the bottom of the barrel. They don't know the ropes, and anyway they're deserting like rats from a sinking ship. It's time to fish or cut bait, mate, or there'll be the devil to pay. No use flogging a dead horse. Let's stay armed to the teeth and look for any port in a storm. There'll be nothing but flotsam and jetsam when this tub goes down the hatch.
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| Customer Reviews:
 This is no 'sloppy' work! August 23, 2007
There are many books that inform us of the number of phrases and words that originated in the days of sail and have become part of every landlubber's English voacabulary. Olivia Isil's book takes a fresh and more comprehensive look at these derivations. Immensely readable, entertaining and informative. Essential to have by the bedside or in the yacht's locker to settle arguments!
Wonderful book! March 4, 2007
I'm now having to purchase my third copy of this book! I buy a copy, loan it out and then never see it again! It is truly amazing to find out how many of our colloquialisms come from the sea. Buy this book and you will enjoy every minute of it.
 Throw me an anchor....... February 28, 2002
1 out of 20 found this review helpful
PLEASE!! Forgive me for being aloof...all at sea.Barge In,its
ok.I just don't get it. I've read better cereal boxes.
A lovely book full of seagoing lore... March 26, 2000
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
This book is a gem! It's full of history and lore related to the sea and those who sail upon it. It has over a hundred pages of interesting information regarding the derivation of words and phrases used in everyday speech. My husband was raised on the seacoast of Nova Scotia, and I've spent many summers on the coast of North Carolina, so we are no strangers to the sea and sailing. This book made a perfect gift for him this past Christmas.
A great little book for "the head". December 17, 1999
25 out of 26 found this review helpful
It is intriguing to learn how many familiar expressions in our everyday speech have their origins at sea (having "washed ashore" as the author puts it). Many of these sayings started out as fairly technical naval terms.For instance the "bitter end" is the tail-end of an anchor line that may disappear overboard if not properly secured (along with a sailor's reputation). To "flake out" means to lay chain out on deck so it may be inspected for weak links. And I won't "let the cat out of the bag" (another entry) in regards to the ever-popular "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey", except to say that it's NOTHING CLOSE to what you think it means! As always the author's voice is clear and refreshing as she recounts coaxing the explanation out of an old salt. (I can't help thinking that it is the woman's perspective on the subject that helps make this little book so delightful.) The book is divided up into "Metaphors and Colloquialisms", "Wind, Waves and Weather", and "Yarns of the Sea, Legends, Myths and Superstitions". I recommend a randomized reading approach to best savor the little surprises.
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