2026-04-10 08:28 UTC
@cstross@wandering.shop True, that’s a good one!
There are so many good nautical phrases, and the context is usually forgotten - the one I like is that the longest seam on a boat is the devil - so caulking that seam is a terrible job - having the devil to pay - and the person doing it was ‘caught between the devil and the deep blue sea’.
Replies (2)
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@bloke_zero@ravenation.club 2026-04-10 09:16
@cstross @gmh there are so many - “toe the line” was where you were expected to line up at muster. The Aubrey / Maturin novels are full of them - bitter end, swing a cat etc etc https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/maritime-history/nautical-origins-everyday-phrases
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@jrootham@mastodon.acm.org 2026-04-10 16:30
@gmh @cstross My understanding is that the complete quote is "The devil to pay and only half a bucket of tar". As in, not enough.