Author: Thompson, Barry
A reference book detailing the customs and language of British seafarers from 1875-1975 containing over 2,000 entries.
Have you ever wondered what these expressions mean or where they came from?
'All hands and the cook'---'Going like a fiddler's elbow'---'Worse things happen at sea'
Many books have covered nautical language and customs, but this is the first that explores the little-known language and customs of Britain's Merchant Navy, in regular use when Britain was a great maritime nation with ships trading to almost every port in the world.
It's not, however, just another book about nautical terms. Rather, this book preserves the everyday vernacular---much of it unique to merchant seamen---and describes the social customs and institutions around the world that helped shape their working life.
Covering the hundred years from 1875 to 1975, it is a work of fascinating social history as well as a reference book for seafarers past and present, libraries, writers of fact and fiction, researchers of maritime history, etymologists---anyone interested in the language of those colourful men, and latterly women, who spent their lives at sea during the heyday of British shipping.
Publication date: 01 Oct 2008
Hardback
