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@Starry1086
Hey how's it going? I was thinking I hadn't seen you posting in a while. So I tried searching for your name, but I had forgotten about Frankenstein's snowblower. Then I remembered the starry part. Then the 86 part. And then finally the 10 part. It's funny how my brain finally got it all together, one step at a time.
So anyway I finally found you and realized that you've been posting as usual, but I had just missed them all.
If it helps, dilly, the sun has crossed the yardarm in Europe.
@Badgardener @Starry1086
Help, I don't know what that means.
It basically means that it's socially acceptable to be three sheets to the wind*
(*: I realise this may not help either, being from the same adage** drawer)
(**: probably not technically an adage)
@Badgardener @Starry1086
Indeed I had to look that one up too, but at least this time I found it. (For the first one, I looked up just "yardarm", which didn't help much. Should have looked for the full expression, not just the word)
@dillyd @Badgardener @Starry1086 I've never heard yardarm, but I really thought 'three sheets to the wind' was standard everywhere that Eng was spoken. I was clearly wrong
@Star12Mt @Badgardener @Starry1086
I grew up Mormon
@dillyd @Badgardener @Starry1086
These are all sailing expressions.
I was not familiar with the yardarm one but as it is a horizontal span high overhead, I assume it means that (on a steady course) the sun has gone from one side to the other, meaning it's now afternoon and acceptable to uncork the rum.
Ropes used to tie down sails are called sheets. Usually there is one at each corner, particularly for an early square-sail ship (versus modern triangular). In a storm, a sail might come undone from as many as three sheets, and will be pretty much unmanageable, hence the metaphor for drunkenness.
I know of one last one: "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey", which sounds naughty but is rooted in physics! Cannonballs used to be stacked on a rack called a monkey, which had bars of the correct dimensions . In extremely cold weather, metal contraction would be such that the ball stacks would collapse, though this explanation may well be apocryphal.
Sorry for the long toot!
@DenOfEarth
Interesting stuff. I know nothing about sailing.
But you now know lots of anachronistic British idioms about drinking, for which I feel responsible and I'm sorry.
How did we get here again?
@Badgardener
Badger dinner, I really don't know anymore.
@DenOfEarth
@dillyd @Badgardener
A few years ago there was a tall ships festival in Québec City. The docks were full of people so it occurred to me that seeing them from the water side might be an alternative. We signed up for an introduction to sailing at the nearby marina. Another couple had the same idea. There were only 6 of us (with two instructors) on a 30' sailboat. We learned how to sail into the wind, changing tack, keeping a steady course, different sails for different weather... It was wonderful.
I'm sure you can find something like that in Montréal.
@DenOfEarth
Excellent idea! That sounds like a lot of fun.
@Badgardener