[Ads-l] "Bone in her teeth"
Stephen Goranson
goranson at DUKE.EDU
Mon Oct 20 12:56:29 UTC 2014
Also 1823. A Universal Technical Dictionary... v. 1, p. not numbered
George Crabb - 1823
"To carry a bone," is said of a ship that makes the water foam before her.
https://www.google.com/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=ship+%22carry+a+bone%22&tbs=,cdr:1,cd_min:Jan+1_2+1799,cd_max:Dec+31_2+1824&num=10&gws_rd=ssl
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From: American Dialect Society on behalf of Dan Goncharoff
Sent: Sunday, October 19, 2014 3:34 PM
Subject: [ADS-L] "Bone in her teeth"
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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