Idioms of Nautical Origin
Idioms of nautical origin

Summary/Abstract: The English have always been a seafaring people, just like their ancestors. Although the days of sailing ships are over, the language has preserved a whole range of expressions related to various aspects of sailing. These idioms are used in a more general or in a figurative sense, following the usual ‘trend’ of such structures in time. Since sailing is no longer an everyday practice, the origin of many expressions stemming from it has become less obvious and perhaps it would be interesting, even useful to discover their background stories.

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