Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1943-02-25

nave FtUldiutu SNn t'h"'- 's
YOU ever hear OF bleeding a
buoy or shooting Charlie
Noble 2"
The result is the following
lexicon, compiled with the aid of
Chief Boatswain'S Mate Archie
NJ. LaRouc. Chief LaRoue now
80 years old. has been in the
coast guard II years. 10 years
on the Great Lakes and II years
az sea.
The first five expressions are
Great Lakes terms.
SAND FOUNDERS Coast
guardsmen assigned 10 lake
duties. Much Of that service
consists OF patrohng the beaches
hence the term.
TURN IN BOOTS AND
SADDLE. To 60 10 sleep with
your clothes on.
STEW BURNER. Ships cook.
SWAB JOCKEYS. Deck crews,
from the obvious chore of swab-
bing the decks.
SIDE ARMS. Salt and pepper.
The rest are salt water rather
than fresh water terms. and not
necessarily limited TO coast
guard service. Some are bceom-
ing quite general stiett ~ .----
SCUTTLEBUTT Or scuttle-
butt runor. In the old days
gossip and rumorS were traded
when crew members met AZ the
Scuttlebutt for a drink OF water.
Often il was the only chance
they had 10 converse and The
rumors flowed freely.
SACK IN. Go "a bed 4 sail
or'S bed is his sack.
JAMOKE. Mud.
MUD. Coffee.
TELL 1T TO THE CHAP
LAIN. Usually a retort 10 a
seaman who grdn1sies
SIXTEEN BELLS. Although
a ships bell ordinary is not rung
more than eight times, once a
year, at midnight on New Years
Eve. Il rings 16 bells.
SHOOT CHARLIE NOBLE.
Fire a pistol through the galley
range to dislodge the SCOT. The
Charlie Noble" part Of il came
about. says Chief Pival. because
an old-time sea captain by that
name kept the galley stack so
meticulouSly Shincd that you
could IDENTIFY ms ship by the
stack.
SCRAMBLED EGG ). The
term for the gold lace effect
atop tho VisorS of caps worn by
officers ranking from COM
mandcr UP.
FATHOM. The word. of course,
is well known. The derivation,
says the chief, is from the Latin
word "patene meaning To
stretch your arms out 10 indl-
cate a distance of six feet.
SKID GRE "A s 4. Butter
which is a word still in use. but
not quite as generally as 1t was
a few months ago.
DUFF-OFF. To sneak out on
a detail.
SPLICE THE MAIN BRACE.
Even a landlubber knows that
that means 10 have a drink. II
originated from the custom of
allowing an extra ration of rum
10 seamen performing the diff
cult job OF splicing the main
brace.
SHOW A LEG. Another that
comes from the days when wives
went 10 sea. It's the boatSwain's
expression to get men up in the
morning. The wives used 10 be
allowed 10 stay a-SnooZing. and
the ladies identified themselves
by thrusting a stockinged leg
from under the covers.
Alloy. Another common
enough term. This naval hail
comes from the fierce war cry
OF the Vikings.
BLEED THE BUOY. Drain
water from a leaking buoy.
DUTCHMAN'S BREECHES.
In storm or overcast weather,
seamen look for the first patch
- of clear blue sky. which is called
/. "Dutchman's breeches" because
OF a traditional old notion that
even the smallest bit of cloth is
enough 10 use for breeches for
Dutchman. Where that comes
from. L don't know.
RED LEAD. Something that
takes eight ration points TO get
-ketchup!
CORKING OFF. Sailors often
used TO have to sleep on the
decks. Thus this term for sleep
ing. which is a corruption of
"caulking off. because sleeping
on the deck used 10 mean that
you got Smearcd with the caulk-
ing compound used to keep the
49, IL