What is the origin of the phrase batten down the hatches?
The English phrase batten down the hatches comes from the way sailors made old ships watertight during storms. Has anyone ever told you to batten down the hatches? If so, they were telling you to prepare for trouble. Batten down the hatches is what sailors used to say when a real storm was coming.
Is it button down the hatches or batten down the hatches?
“guess we’ll have to button down the hatches.” This was spoken by a Fox anchorman talking about a coming storm in Florida. The expression is “to batten down the hatches.” It refers to the act of nailing lengths of wood (battens) across trapdoors in a ship’s deck so they won’t open during a storm.
What does Yar Matey mean?
Yarr, Matey! (4 Nautical Phrases for Talk Like a Pirate Day) Yarr, Matey! ( 4 Nautical Phrases to Help You Talk Like a Pirate)
What does batten down the hatches mean Wikipedia?
to fasten the entrances to the lower part of a ship using wooden boards. to prepare for a difficult situation: When you’re coming down with the flu all you can do is batten down the hatches and wait for it to pass.
Is batten down the hatches a metaphor?
Explanation: In this metaphor, batten down the hatches is a saying that sailors would say when there was a storm approaching. They would secure the hatches or the doors leading to the ship below. When it is used now, it usually means that something bad is happening and everybody needs to help prepare for it.
What does it mean to batten down?
Definition of batten down 1 : to prepare for possible trouble or difficulty People are battening down in preparation for a fierce storm. 2 : to tie, close, or cover (something) in order to prevent it from moving or becoming damaged Everything on the ship’s deck was battened down.
When did batten down the hatches originate?
What Is the Origin of the Saying “To Batten Down the Hatches”? To batten down the hatches means to prepare for pending trouble. To batten down the hatches is a nautical term from the early 19th century. When a ship was about to enter rough seas, the captain would order the crew to batten down the hatches.
What does batten down mean?
Why do pirates say YARR?
Pronounced also as “Yarrr!” and “Arg!”, the word “Arrr!” is traditionally said by pirates when responding “yes” or when expressing excitement. Many of the phrases that most people think of as pirate speech today can actually be traced back to portrayals of pirates in movies.
What is a hatch tarpaulin?
A hatch is an opening in the deck of a ship, usually rectangular in shape. When you’re shipping white water over the bow you don’t want openings in your deck. So, to prepare for high winds and heavy seas, you would batten down your hatches. To do this you need is a big piece of canvas tarpaulin, larger than your hatch.