0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

recentactivity

  • All
  • Submitted
  • Corrected
  • Explanations
  • Meanings
+ 4
Explanation
"
two
A cable is one tenth of a nautical mile, or near enough 200 yards, or 100 fathoms. Two cables is a long way to be firing 4 pounders, but well within the range of a larger ship with larger guns, firing from a steadier deck.
- -12
Explanation
"
eggs
And the Main trunk carried off both me
Scaryblonde may be right, but a falling truck isn't highly damaging. I suspect the original may have been Main Top, a massive structure half-way up the main mast which supports the top mast. And carries a fighting position, where the author may have been at the time. When the mast came down, the top is several tons of falling mayhem; the truck is only a few pounds or tens of pounds. Then again, to a non-nautical singer, perhaps "main trunk" as in the mast itself, may have sounded OK. There is no such thing in nautical jargon however.
- -16
Explanation
"
NOW!
Barrett was smashed like a bowl of
The name of the ship, not her captain, fits the imagery better, but the song's tempo calls for two syllables not three, so "Barrett" replaces "Antelope."
- 0
Explanation
"
hove in sight
Kirkconnors explanation is correct, but this term is often used to mean "appeared in sight" as on the horizon. Due to the curvature of the earth, a ship can only be seen for 12-20 miles before she is "hull down" on the horizon and hard to spot.
- -1
Explanation
"
NOW!
Our cracked four pounders made an awful
A joke. Her guns were tiny, hardly noisy at all. Tongue in cheek reference is that they "made an awful din" - Not!
+ 3
Explanation
"
With our cracked four pounders we made to fight
I suspect the actual wording is, "With our crack four pounders..." another tongue-in-cheek reference to the comically lightweight armament they carried. "Crack" as in "accurate," which hardly mattered as they were so small.
- 0
Explanation
"
the
Many times sailor's speak of their ship as if they were actual women - tongue in cheek. In this case, the comparison is meant to be funnily disparaging - common in sea chanties.
- -1
Explanation
"
stays
But to catch her took the Antelope two whole days
God damn them all!
I was told we'd cruise the seas for American gold
We'd fire no guns-shed no tears
Now I'm a broken man on a Halifax
Having established the prize was "fat and loose" the author is saying that their privateer wasn't much better. Taking two whole days to catch a ship that wasn't more than 15-20 miles away is pretty disparaging.
+ 1
Explanation
"
the
In this case, "loose in stays" refers to the ship's ability to tack or jybe through the wind - The American target was not very maneuverable nor fast - a perfect catch.
  • Rank
    3096
  • Karma
    45
  • Points to next rank
    1
  • Submitted
    0
  • Corrected
    0
  • Explanations
    9
  • Meanings
    0