[Ads-l] "Bone in her teeth"

Dan Goncharoff thegonch at GMAIL.COM
Sun Oct 19 19:34:40 UTC 2014


At the maritime nonprofit where I help out, this phrase, referring to boat
moving swiftly, generating a 'bone' of foam at her bow, and looking like a
dog carrying a bone in its mouth.

The earliest I can find is The Atlantic Magazine from September 1824:

"...the fastenings of the boat were unloosed by some "polissons" on the
wharf; up went the sails, and off sailed the boat, proudly dashing the
foaming waters on either side of her bow, or in the more expressive
language of her crew, "carrying a white bone in her teeth."

Can anyone help us do better

DanG

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



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