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"Hoist with his own petard" is a phrase from a speech in William Shakespeare's play Hamlet that has become proverbial. The phrase's meaning is that a bomb-maker is blown ("hoist", the past tense of "hoise") off the ground by his own bomb ("petard"), and indicates an ironic reversal or poetic justice. [1]
The sides of a ship. To describe a ship as "on her beam ends" may mean the vessel is literally on her side and possibly about to capsize; more often, the phrase means the vessel is listing 45 degrees or more. beam reach Sailing with the wind coming across the vessel's beam. This is normally the fastest point of sail for a fore-and-aft-rigged ...
Hoist controller, a machine for raising and lowering goods or personnel by means of a cable; Hydraulic hooklift hoist, another machine; Hoist (mining), another machine; Hoist (flag), the half of a flag nearer to the flagpole; Hoist, by Phish; USS Hoist (ARS-40), a Bolster class rescue and salvage ship acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II
Another term for a clear signal, derived from the days of steam where a station operator would hoist a large wooden ball up a standard, signaling that the engineer was authorized to proceed [38] [71] [134] [136] A slang term used among railroad employees to convey to the crew of a train that they were clear to proceed [137] [138] High cube (US)
And it's not just a variation on American slang, either: the local lingo in St. Louis takes time to get your head around. So here's a run-down of St. Louis' local language and its most common ...
Marines sometimes are thought by seamen to be rather gullible, hence the phrase "tell it to the marines", meaning that one does not believe what is being said. 2. An alternative term for a navy, uncommon in English but common in other languages. 3. Of or pertaining to the sea (e.g. marine biology, marine insurance, marine salvage). 4.
(slang) something that is unsatisfactory or in generally bad condition. prang (slang) to crash a motor vehicle with generally minor damage (US: fender bender) pram, perambulator wheeled conveyance for babies (US: baby-carriage) prat * (slang) an incompetent or ineffectual person, a fool, an idiot press-up
A food safety expert weighs in on flour bugs, also known as weevils, that can infest your pantry after one TikToker found her flour infested with the crawlers.