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Brewer's: Nicor
(A). A sea-devil, in Scandinavian mythology, who eats sailors. “My brother saw a nicor in the Northern sea. It was three fathoms long, with the body of a bison-bull, and the head of a cat…Brewer's: North-east Passage
(The). A way to India from Europe round the north extremit of Asia. It had been often attempted even in the 16th century Hence Beaumont and Fletcher. That everlasting cassock, that has…Brewer's: Splice
To marry. Very strangely, “splice” means to split or divide. The way it came to signify unite is this: Ropes' ends are first untwisted before the strands are interwoven. Joining two ropes…Brewer's: Tapu
among the South Sea Islanders, means “devoted” in a religious sense. Thus, a temple is tapu, and he who violates a temple is tapu. Not only so, but everyone and everything connected with…Brewer's: Tarpaulins
or Tars. Sailors, more frequently called Jack Tars. Tarpaulins are tarred cloths used commonly on board ship to keep articles from the sea-spray, etc. The more correct spelling is tar-…Brewer's: Tommy Atkins
(A). A British soldier, as a Jack Tar is a British sailor. The term arose from the little pocket ledgers served out, at one time, to all British soldiers. In these manuals were to be…Brewer's: Roper
Margaret Roper was buried with the head of her father, Sir Thomas More, in her arms. Her, who clasped in her last trance Her murdered father's head. Tennyson. Mistress Roper. A cant name…Brewer's: Lobsters
and Tarpaulings. Soldiers and sailors. Soldiers are now popularly called lobsters, because they are turned red when enlisted into the service. But the term was originally applied to a…Brewer's: Log-line
The line fastened to the log (q.v.), and wound round a reel in the ship's gallery. The whole line (except some five fathoms next the log, called stray line) is divided into equal lengths…Brewer's: Lutestring
A glossy silk; a corruption of the French word lustrine (from lustre). To speak in lutestring. Flash, highly-polished oratory. The expression was first used in Junius. Shakespeare has “…Trending
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