Nautical Terms - Test Your Knowledge

[Pug211]

In the Marine Corps a Scuttle Butt is a water fountain (probably holds true in the USN).

I now know where the question "what's the scuttlebutt?" means

 

[cdiver2]

A dead light is a shutter for the portal.

NEXT QUESTION. What is a slushfund

 

[Pug211]

Are we talking nautical or political? lol

 

[Wookie]

When I was a Nuke living in First Division onboard the USS California, I was paid more than the deckhands. I wouold "slush" cash to the fellows at 100% interest for 2 weeks (payday to payday). All highly illegal, of course. I would guess the slush fund is a fund the skipper keeps to help out broke sailors when they need a plane ticket home for the birth of a child, etc.

 

[Wookie]

Oh, yuck. The money earned from selling the fat derived from boiling and salting beef.

 

[cdiver2]

Oh, yuck. The money earned from selling the fat derived from boiling and salting beef.

A slushy slurry of fat was obtained by boiling or scraping the empty salted meat storage barrels. This stuff called "slush" was often sold ashore by the ship's cook for the benefit of himself or the crew. The money so derived became known as a slush fund.

NEXT QUESTION. What is Toe the Line

 

[Pug211]

NEXT QUESTION. What is Toe the Line[/QUOTE]

Fall in line.

 

[cdiver2]

NEXT QUESTION. What is Toe the Line

Fall in line.[/QUOTE]

Expand on it

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

A slushy slurry of fat was obtained by boiling or scraping the empty salted meat storage barrels. This stuff called "slush" was often sold ashore by the ship's cook for the benefit of himself or the crew. The money so derived became known as a slush fund.

NEXT QUESTION. What is Toe the Line

This definition of "Toe The Line" is slightly different from the one I remember, but is probably the correct one (and my memory is suspect these days anyway ):

According to the U. S. Naval Historical Center's website,

The space between each pair of deck planks in a wooden ship was filled with a packing material called "oakum" and then sealed with a mixture of pitch and tar. The result, from afar, was a series of parallel lines a half-foot or so apart, running the length of the deck. Once a week, as a rule, usually on Sunday, a warship's crew was ordered to fall in at quarters -- that is, each group of men into which the crew was divided would line up in formation in a given area of the deck. To insure a neat alignment of each row, the Sailors were directed to stand with their toes just touching a particular seam. Another use for these seams was punitive. The youngsters in a ship, be they ship's boys or student officers, might be required to stand with their toes just touching a designated seam for a length of time as punishment for some minor infraction of discipline, such as talking or fidgeting at the wrong time. A tough captain might require the miscreant to stand there, not talking to anyone, in fair weather or foul, for hours at a time. Hopefully, he would learn it was easier and more pleasant to conduct himself in the required manner rather than suffer the punishment. From these two uses of deck seams comes our cautionary word to obstreperous youngsters to "toe the line."

Sounds about right. And far more interesting and complete than my remembered definition, which was to fall into formation in a straight line, toes even along an imaginary line on a steel deck, or along a plank seam on a wooden deck.

 

[drbill]

Oh, I thought the subject line said "naughty terms" rather than "nautical terms." Never mind...