Everyday Speech from Sailors of Yesterday
- the word mayday is the mariners' distress call. It comes from the French words "help me" or "m'aidez." It is only to be used when a person or a vessel is in grave and imminent danger and requires immediate assistance. "Pan-pan" (pronounced pahn pahn) is another important radio call that mariners use to transmit urgent messages and warnings to other sailors and rescue personnel, but it is used for situations that are serious but not life-threatening.
Crows are landlubbers. Sailors long ago used crows as navigational tools. When the fog rolled in or the weather was foul (or should we say "fowl"), mariners would release a crow from its cage and note the direction it flew, which was sure to be straight toward the closest land. Today we describe how far away something is "as the crow flies" to mean the shortest distance to it regardless of where the road is or what might be in the way.
fatn 0m(noun) The length of outstretched arms or a nautical measure of 6 feet; (verb) To measure to the bottom with a pole or line; to understand something completely. Before we had rulers and tape measures. people measured things with what was fairly consistent and always nearby .. .their bodies. Horses are measured in hands; distance is measured by the foot. The fathom. used on nautical charts and by mariners. is six feet. Today, when we find ourselves without a measuring tool handy and a good estimate will do. we can still use our bodies to approximate measurements. If you stretch your arms out from side to side. it will approximate your height. Since most adults are somewhere around six feet tall. you can measure something in fathoms with your outstretched arms. Need a quick way of measuring how much rope you've got tied to your anchor before you throw it overboard? Use your wingspan to measure it in fathoms. Overestimate if you are vertically challenged .
Sea History For Kids is sponsored by the James A. Macdonald Foundation
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