[Ads-l] Nautical/naval jargon etc.

[James Eric Lawson]

Crosslinked from yardarm, e, in OEDO, is sun, phrases, f, "the sun is
over the yardarm (also foreyard) and variants: it is time for the first
alcoholic drink of the day", with the earliest citation from 1839 in
Burton's "A Cape Codder Among the Mermaids".

The phrase had been established in the sense promoted by OEDO at least
as early as 1835, and was probably established much earlier:

N. Ames, "An Old Sailors Yarns":

By way of commentary to his speech, the Yankee commander called to the
steward to "bring up the case bottle, &c. and the molasses jug,"
observing, that "although he knew that the Albatrosses didn't require
any Dutch courage, the sun was over the fore-yard, and it was grog time
in all Christian countries."

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433082174719&view=1up&seq=304&skin=2021&q1=over%20the%20fore%20yard

A noteworthy earlier example, wherein the phrase is clearly associated
with a time, but not so clearly with the time to start drinking, appears
in an item chockful of nautical terms in the Portland gazette and Maine
advertiser, April 06, 1807. A substantially revamped article appears
five years later, 1812, in the same journal:

Then my brave fellows, turn out when the watch is called—obey the signal
that was made the Sunday before last for all hands to repair to the Dock
This Day, about the time that the sun gets over the fore
yard.

1807:
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83016082/1807-04-06/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=1777&index=1&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=fore+over+yard&proxdistance=5&date2=1849&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=over+the+fore+yard&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

Now hark-ee, Ship-mates—as soon as the sun is over
the fore-yard, heave a head—get under way—give three Cheers,
and steer for the old Rendezvous; and there, one and all,
vote for our old Commander, CALEB STRONG, Esquire—as
good a man as ever walked the quarter deck.

1812:
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83016082/1812-04-04/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=1777&index=1&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=fore-yard+over&proxdistance=5&date2=1849&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=over+the+foreyard&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

OEDO attests "yardarm and (or to) yardarm" for close ships as early as 1666.

On 10/2/22 08:33, victor steinbok wrote:
> While checking out some unrelated issues, I came across a few nautical
> terms and phrases on succession that might require OED research. I lack
> resources to chase down these leads further
> 
> First, it's "sun over the yard-arm". Easily found in Wiki, the phrase
> refers to a particular time of day, generally, although the specific time
> depends on location and heading. But, with time, it became the rather fixed
> time when sailors got their first tot of rum. Wiki points to a relatively
> late first OED quotation from Kipling but I could not find the phrase or
> the quotation in online OED. Wiki also points to an earlier 1883 quotation.
> However, I found an 1869 quotation, specifically explicated as drinking
> time, in 1869 Our Life in Japan, which has subsequently suffered multiple
> editions. nGrams points to 1867 as the earliest citing but offers no actual
> citation.
> 
> Subsequently, I also looked in OED at "yardarm and yardarm" as an
> expression for close quarters fighting. The quotations go pretty far back,
> but I found another citation under "Cara sposa". The first quotation (the
> one with "yardarm and yardarm") is 1750 IIRC. The second is 1793. There's a
> further catch. The definition for "Cara sposa" gives "wife or close female
> companion". That is indeed the use in *later* quotations. But these two
> very clearly refer to a *male* companion, i.e., "ship wife". I don't have
> the resources to delve further, at the moment, but I would suggest a closer
> inspection to see if this is more than a mere coincidence. It is quite
> possible (and likely, in my view) that the earlier use was indeed
> euphemistic but picked up as literal in later nautical fiction. There seems
> to be no natural cause to use an Italian term like that in naval jargon,
> which is why I suspect the change in meaning. Perhaps all this is
> well-known already and I'm rebel-rousing for nothing.
> 
> Finally, I know that this topic has been put to rest already but is there a
> "yard" connection to the "whole nine yards"? A clipper might have seven
> yards. Late 19th century ships might have more. Definitely not my area of
> expertise by any stretch.
> 
> VS
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

-- 
James Eric Lawson

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