Several phrases we use today originated in the Royal Navy in the days of wooden warships.
“chock-a-block” – this refers to the blocks used on pulleys to raise cargo onto the ship. When the two blocks got next to each other, the pulley would jam and could not be moved. The phrase became associated with a packed room where you can’t move.
“letting the cat out of the bag” – although the ships carried cats on board to handle the rats, it is not a cat that the phrase refers to. In this case, cat is short for cat o’ nine tails which was used for whipping sailors who violated one of the numerous rules on board the vessel. The cat o’ nine tails was a stick that had nine strands of iron-tipped leather. This made getting fifty lashes particularly nasty. Taking the cat out of the bag meant someone was about to get a bloody back. Today it means a secret has been let out. Speaking of cats, the phrase “not enough room to swing a cat” also refers to the cat o’ nine tails. You needed a lot of room to swing that device.
“true colors” – Sometimes British ships (and those of other nations) would go into battle flying the opponents flag (colors) to make the enemy think the approaching ship was friendly. Before opening fire, you were supposed to put your real flag up. This supposedly cancelled out the cheating.
“groggy” – next time you wake up groggy and it’s from drinking, you’ll know it originated as a drinking reference. British sailors (tars) were entitled to a daily ration of rum. This was some powerful stuff, even though it was prepared with one part rum to two parts water. It wasn’t enough to get you drunk, but sometimes a tar might save up several days’ worth and then take them all at once to get drunk. He would wake up the next morning feeling “groggy”.
cat o’ nine tails in action
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