Naval veteran ‘knows the ropes’

To the editor:
The Commercial Review’s Dec. 24 issue displayed a Dear Abby headline of “Cat out of the bag.”
Having a somewhat familiarity with nautical terms, perhaps elaboration of the above headline would lend itself to public interest along with other seafaring terms that have woven their way into the English language.
Since 1794, masters-at-arms have enforced Navy regulations and discipline aboard ships. This was too often accomplished by a cat-of-nine-tails — a long whip with nine short tails in a fan pattern at the receiving end. A boy’s cat was applied to crewman age 14 or younger.
Such punishment was administered while the unfortunate sailor was strapped to the main mast and the crew assembled to witness. Salt was occasionally applied to enhance the pain — “rubbing salt in the wounds.”
These cats were contained in a leather bag held by the master-at-arms. Sailors were constantly reminded to control their conduct to prevent “letting the cat out of the bag.”
Such flogging was abolished by Congress on Sept. 28, 1850, after President Millard Fillmore signed legislation so stating. Dragging its feet, the navy administered its last flogging with a cat on March 22, 1862. Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice is the official term applied to non-judicial punishment used by the Army and Air Force. In keeping with seafaring terminology, the Navy’s version is always referred to as Captain’s Mast.
Twice, which I’m not at all proud of, during a long naval career my carcass appeared at Captain’s Mast, where he proceeded with an abundance of glee and supreme wrath to extract several pounds of verbal flesh from an already thin body. It appeared the captain was not without cannibalistic tendencies.
“Son of a gun” is not a stranger to the English-speaking world. In use since at least 1708, sailors on occasion would take their women to sea with pregnancies a common occurrence. As many were prostitutes, paternity of the newborn was often in doubt but the mother’s particular gun station was usually known, thus received the honor of parenthood.
“Mind your Ps and Qs” is familiar to all. Several approaches to its origin are theorized with strong favoritism toward the nautical version. Waterfront pubs in England, by way of a chalkboard, kept track of pints or quarter consumed. After liberal portions of liquid philosophy, it was too common for unethical bartenders to substitute Qs for Ps. Your shipmate would remind you to watch your Ps and Qs. This tradition remained in practice in 1975 (and may still) when anchored at Portsmouth, England. On exiting the pub, I paid the board tally.
“A cup of Joe” is first cousin to baseball and apple pie quotes. On becoming secretary of the Navy in 1913, Joseph Daniels established General Order 99 on June 1, 1914, banning all alcoholic beverages aboard ships, replacing it with coffee. A near mutiny ensued, as the sailors, in a negative salute, would “have a cup of Joe.” In the recent past, Burger King has promoted a “cup of Joe” in its restaurants.
With CR word count restrictions, I may be approaching the end of my rope.
Respectfully,
Roy Leverich
Portland