By Lyn Funnell 
On our recent visit to The National Museum of the Royal Navy in Hartlepool we were shown around the Frigate HMS Trincomalee by the excellent guide Stuart Burke https://unknownkentandsussex.co.uk/hms-trincomalee/ and we were surprised by how many Naval expressions have come down to us through the centuries.
Here are some of them and I think they’ll surprise you as much as they surprised us.
Bangers. The crew were issued with ship’s biscuits which were rock-hard, but they lasted for months. They had to be soaked in their food before they could be eaten. Sometimes the cook would mix some with a little meat and stuff the filling into sausage cases. When they were cooked they often split and exploded, so they were known as Bangers.
No room to swing a cat. This meant the deadly cat o’ nine tails, which was used on ships to flog any sailors that broke the rules. There was no room to swing it indoors.
You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. The sailors made agreements that if they had to flog a friend, they would pull back to avoid doing much damage.
Sling your hook. Hammocks were numbered and hung on hooks from the rafters. If someone snored loudly or was restless, he was finally told to move away, or to sling his hook.
Your number’s up. If a sailor died at sea, he was sewn into his hammock with a cannon ball at his feet. When he was slung overboard, his feet sank and his head with the number above floated upwards.
Toilets were called heads because they were at the head, or bow of the ship.
Money for old rope. Rope was stuffed between the planks on deck and covered with tar. When rope became worn, it was replaced. The old rope was sold to ropemakers who turned it into oakum.
Splice the mainbrace. Climbing up the mainbrace to do repairs to the mast was dangerous work so a tot of rum was given to the unfortunate sailor who had to do it. Rum tots were given out to the Navy regularly and it became known as splicing the mainbrace.
Under the weather. The Georgians believed that fresh air cured a lot of ailments so there was a part of the deck with no glass or wood over it. Any ill sailors were laid underneath it to recover. This was known as being under the weather.
There are plenty more sayings and it’s amazing how they’ve survived through the centuries.
