Nautical Terms

I was posting a comment on O.G.s blog on the KC Renaissance Festival when I saw a post there about "Pirate Day". It made me think about how much traditional nautical terminology survives to this day in the American vernacular.

A few examples:

All-Aboard!: "Obvious"
Beacon: "Lighthouse"
Break: "Handle of a bilge pump"
Cunt: "The void between two ropes"
Cut-and-Run: "Cutting the anchor ropes to make a quick retreat when an enemy approaches"
First-rate: "Top-of-the-line warship"
Knot: "6076 fpH, now mostly used in meteorology and sailing"
Slush-fund: "The coin the cook could get by selling the fat out out of the meat barrels in port"

There are many many others, but these are some of the ones I can remember from my time in the NROTC.

-Tommy