Word origins have always fascinated me, particularly those we have gleaned from, given to or shared with those who once plied the oceans. Here are a few we use regularly.

* Fly-by-night. Most of us understand, and have used at one time or another, the phrase “fly-by-night.” It refers to something that is unreliable, particularly a business or the person engaged in that business.

It’s a phrase that came ashore during the age of sail, as did many nautical-turned-lubberly constructions. Sailors of old knew a “fly-by-night” was an extra sail, hoisted in a manner that wasn’t typical. It may have been an extra jib hauled aloft and secured somewhere it had never before been. It was used to try and capture a breeze when there was little or none. It was a bit like hanging the laundry out and making a sail of it. Such a temporary sail wasn’t very dependable and could cause severe problems if a strong wind unexpectedly arose while it was being used. Thus, the idea today of a “fly-by-night” is not unlike its nautical origin.

* Grapple. We all know what it means to grapple with something. If a problem is complex or even just annoying, but must be dealt with, we grapple with it until things are solved. To grapple with something is to grab ahold and don’t turn loose.

The word comes from “grapnel,” a small anchor device tied to a line. On a sailing warship, numerous grapnels were thrown aboard an enemy ship and pulled until the two vessels were securely alongside each other. Then, sailors would board the other ship, and there they did indeed “grapple” with a thoroughly unpleasant task, overcoming an enemy crew in hand-to-hand combat.

* Hitch. You will still occasionally hear of two people getting “hitched” when they marry. We may also refer to a hitch as something that blocks or interrupts our planned work or activity. Plans for a party or other event may also go off without a hitch. 

All those uses have a common nautical origin, which is that a hitch stops or catches a rope. A simple hitch will do just that, and various knots complete the process, but begin with the simple hitch. 

* Fiddle. The word fiddle is one of the most flexible words ever to pass the lips of old salts, or landlubbers either, for that matter. Lexicographers tell us the word’s been around longer than most in our language, being traceable to the Medieval Latin vidula and the early Italian viola, thus securing its primary affiliation with stringed instruments.

It’s been passed from shore to ship and back again repeatedly and along the way has been used to convey a variety of ideas. Its original shipboard use implied illegal activity. To fiddle was to cheat, as too often was the case with ships’ pursers, known to sell off ship-owned goods for their personal profit.

Coming ashore, the meaning was altered, but not entirely. Today, we fiddle with a thing, treating it in a loose manner, trying to adjust a radio dial, for instance. 

Back aboard, the word was used also to describe a “fiddle block,” a set of two pulleys, one large and one small. That piece of equipment is still very much in use by sailors, by the way.

And, of course, there’s Fiddler’s Green, that happy place where sailors hoped to go when they died. It was a land of perpetual good fun, with a fiddle always playing, alcohol, tobacco and women always plentiful.

* Footloose. Who hasn’t wanted, at some point in our lives, to be “foot loose” to roam the world, free of all responsibilities and obligations? The term comes, again, from the age of sail where a loose-footed sail was not secured to a boom as most fore and aft sails are. 

But here’s the rub, at sea and ashore. The loose-footed sail was hard to control, and that brings us to the less desirable side of those we consider to be footloose and fancy free.

* Scant. We may find that we have a scant few dollars in our wallet and thus can’t buy lunch. Once again, the word has come ashore. Actually, it’s quite old and like many in our English language, owes its origin to the Vikings, for the word comes to us from the Norse “skamt,” meant short and came to be used to describe sailing close to the wind, barely holding the desired course.

* Shakes. Nautically related to scant is shakes. We may tell someone, “I’ll be there in two shakes,” meaning quite soon. When a ship sailed close to the wind, a sail beginning to luff or “shake” was the sign to ease off the wind a bit. A good helmsman wouldn’t wait around for “two shakes” which might be disastrous

Language evolves with need as did these and many other phrases. As the need for them ends, the word or phrase is retired. That said, language is evolving today in ways that frankly befuddle me. I just can’t keep up with the abbreviated and slangy words and phrases that are used by texters. Nor do I particularly want to. But that’s a subject best left for another time.

 

John Edwards is publisher emeritus of The Smithfield Times. His email address is j.branchedwards@gmail.com.