Seafaring Idioms 1s2155

Seafaring Idioms Students :

Marinescu Stefan Remenyi Claudiu Meregiu Georgiana

Seafarin g

The term”seafaring” basically reffers to the activity of travelling on the sea especially while working on a ship/the carrer of a sailor,his “call”.It is believed that seafaring - defined as deliberate,place-toplace, open-ocean voyaging, appeared no earlier than 10–15,000 years ago. Oxford dictionar y

• “regularly travelling by sea”

• “working or Macmilla n travelling dictionar y on the sea” • “working Collins dictionar as a y sailor”

The term “idiom” means:  a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words.(eg:see the light) a form of expression natural to a language, person, or group of people  phrases that cannot be taken literally Origins: Late 16th century,from french “idiome” or from Greek “idioma”(private property)

Tell it to the marines •Meaning: a scornful response to a tall and unbelieved story. •E.g:”You say you lost your money because you got robbed? Tell it to the marines!” •Romanian equivalent:sa i-o spui lui mutu Origins: This phrase illustrates the fact that marines were naive enough to believe ridiculous tales,but that sailors weren’t.

To sail close to the wind •Meaning:to do something that is dangerous or only just legal/acceptable, to take risks. •E.g:”I thought she was sailing a a bit too close to the wind,when she accepted to run a shady business,but it turns out that I was wrong”. •Romanian equivalent:a o cauta cu lumanarea

To push the boat out Meaning:to spend a lot of money or more money than you usually do, especially when you are celebrating. E.g:”They really pushed the boat out for their wedding” Romanian equivalent:a te intrece cu masura

To be in Davy Jones’s locker Meaning:the bottom of the ocean, especially when regarded as the grave of all those who perish at sea. E.g:”Their ship ended up in Davy Jones’s locker after a mysterious accident” Romanian equivalent:a se duce la fund

Origin:Davy Jones is the evil spirit of the sea. There are various attempts to explain the name by associating it with Biblicalof a similar name: someone

seaman

Davy Jones

Pub owner

Shortsight ed sailor

When one’s ship comes in

eaning: when one becomes rich and successful g:”When my ship will come in,it will probably be too late” manian equivalent:a-i surade norocul

rowning man clutching at a straw •Meaning:when you are desperate, you will look for anything that might get you out of that situation. •E.g:”He thinks that the robbery will cover all of his debts.A drowning man will clutch at a straw.” •Romanian equivalent:a atarna de un fir/a se

ween the Devil and the deep blue •Meaning:in difficulty, faced with two dangerous alternatives. •E.g:”If he decides to quit his job,he will be between the devil and the blue sea,because he hasn’t paid the rent for the last two months” •Romanian equivalent:intre ciocan si nicovala •Origin:pointing back to Homer's Odyssey,it refers to Ulysses being caught between Scylla (a six-headed monster) and Charybdis (a whirlpool).

To know the ropes Meaning: knowledge of how to do something,having certain required skills E.g:”I know the ropes,so becoming the director of this company shouldn’t be hard.” Romanian equivalent:a sti mersul treburilor Origin:it was such an important skill on sailing vessels that an honorable discharge of service was marked, at one time, with the term 'knows the ropes'. 

To be at a low ebb

eaning:below the usual condition or standard g:”The death of his wife came at a time when his carrer as at a low ebb”. omanian equivalent:a fi in declin(a fi sub nivelul marii)

To rock the boat oMeaning: to cause trouble where none is welcome; to disturb a situation that is otherwise stable and satisfactory. oE.g:”We certainly don’t want anyone rocking the boat before we get our money from the owner” oRomanian equivalent:a pune bete in roate

Long shot •Meaning: an attempt that offers much but in which there is little chance for success. •E.g:”I will try to get some funds ,building a company from scratch is a long shot”. •Romanian equivalent:a incerca marea cu degetul

Because ships' guns in early days were very inaccurate except at close quarters, it was an extremely lucky shot that would find its target from any

To feel blue

•Meaning:to feel unwell, mainly associated with depression or unhappiness. •E.g:”This horrible weather makes me feel blue”. •Romanian equivalent:a fi la pamant

Origin: If you are sad,and describe yourself as”feeling blue”

To walk the plank •Meaning:to suffer punishment at the hand of someone •E.g:”The coach thought he could make 2 players walk the plank,but he was wrong” •Romanian equivalent:a fi aruncat in groapa cu lei Origin:It was basically a form of execution in which victims were forced to walk, often blindfold and with hands tied, off a plank of wood and into the sea.

To be at sea •Meaning:to be completely confused •E.g:”He hasn’t been to any of the training sessions. Therefore,he’s all at sea with the new equipment” •Romanian equivalent:a fi pe dinafara/a fi paralel

Loose cannon Meaning: An unpredictable person or thing, liable to cause damage if not kept in check by others. E.g:|”Since his father left him,he’s been a loose cannon everywhere he goes” Romanian equivalent:a fi cu capsa pusa Origins:a loose cannon was just what it sounds like, that is, a cannon that had become free of its restraints and was rolling dangerously about the deck. Meaning:smooth and easy progress E.g:”After we graduated,it was plain sailing to get a job” Romanian equivalent:a merge ca pe roate

Plain Sailing

Origins:'Plane sailing' is a simplified form of navigation, in which the surface of the sea is

Above board •Meaning: without concealment and deception •E.g:”Their business was open and above board •Romanian equivalent:cu cartile pe fata Origin: a captain with nothing to hide would keep his crew "above board”.

Black Book

•Meaning:a book containing the names of people to be punished •E.g:”It seems that Mary broke my TV yesterday. She’s on my black book,then. •Romanian equivalent:lista neagra •Origin:a collection of maritime laws and conduct. The punishments for offenses was harsh, to say the least.

Cut and run •Meaning:to avoid a difficult situation by leaving suddenly •E.g:”There is a time to fight and there is a time to cut and run” •Romanian equivalent:a da bir cu fugitii •Origins: It has been suggested that it has a nautical derivation and that it refers to ships making a hasty departure by cutting off the anchor rope and running before the wind

Miss the boat

eaning: to be too late to get something that you want g:”Those who wanted to buy tickets for the show will cover that they missed the boat,because there aren’t more left” manian equivalent:a ramane cu ochii in soare

Conclusi ons Although at first glance,idioms don't always make sense in general conversation, they are widely used and understood throughout history. Seafaring has one of the oldest origins,and it basically represented a way of life for people back then. Idioms with seafaring origins are used to express all kind of situations,but mostly they refer to certain human behaviours,tactics and some well-known myths. Many of the presented idioms are still being used in the present day,although most people

Webliography http://www.hull.ac.uk/php/cetag/1etimber.htm http://abceda.com/seaidiom1.htm http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com http://www.phrases.org.uk http://thesaurus.com http://en.wiktionary.org http://www.anthro.utah.edu