A NOTE ON COLI.OQUIAL SHIP NAMES. 



BY HENRY L. BROOMALL. 



The sailor uses some very striking appellatives to describe 

 vessels according to peculiarities of movement, condition or 

 management. A typical domestic animal is referred to in 

 hen-frigate , a vessel in which the captain's wife has a hand in 

 the regulations ; and an animal of no less decided character- 

 istics gave the name donkey -frigates to English men-of-war 

 commanded by officers who had seen little or no service in 

 lower grades — who had come on board ' ' through the cabin 

 windows," and not "over the bows," as it is nautically 

 described. Any one who has seen from a distance a number 

 of small vessels lying close together will recognize the appro- 

 priateness of mosquito fleet, the blue-water sailor's term for 

 them. Perhaps only those who have experienced the tyranny 

 possible on shipboard can appreciate the name of hell-afioat 

 given a vessel notorious for such government. Another omi- 

 nous term is floating-coffin for a vessel that may be apparently 

 sea-worthy, but which in fact onl}' awaits an occasion to vin- 

 dicate its name. In contrast to this, English sealers and 

 whalers are known as lime-juice?'s because they are required 

 by the British Admiralty to carry lime-juice as an anti-scor- 

 butic. Again, referring to the health of the soul, what could 

 be better than floating Bethel for an old ship in port used for 

 religious services ? 



As opposed to nitter and clipper, legitimate class names of 

 vessels, from their cutting and clipping the water, the title of 

 bruise-zvater is applied to a bluff-bowed vessel, one that bruises 

 or breaks the water ; with which compare French briser, to 

 dash or break as waves, brisayits, breakers. This action upon 

 the water recalls the suggested connection between sloop and 

 slip, and between schooner and scoon, send and skoot. Wet 

 vessels, that take much water on deck, are known as diving- 

 bells, from their plunging into the waves instead of riding 

 over them. A vessel that pitches heavily is called a pile- 



