Cup of Joe

Navy lore: Josephus Daniels (18 May 1862-15 January 1948) was appointed Secretary of the
Navy by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913. Among his reforms of the Navy were inaugurating
the practice of making 100 Sailors from the Fleet eligible for entrance into the Naval Academy,
the introduction of women into the service, and the abolishment of the officers wine mess. From
that time on, the strongest drink aboard Navy ships could only be coffee and over the years, a
cup of coffee became known as a cup of Joe.
Cut and Run
Most often thought to mean the cutting of an anchor line in an effort to make a quick getaway.
Hard to imagine that many ships masters enjoyed routinely losing an anchor or two, so it is
probably more likely referring to the practice of securing the sails of a square-rigged ship with
rope yarns that could easily be cut away when a quick departure was necessary.
Cut of His Jib
The term originated in the 18th century, when sailing navies could determine the nationality of a
sailing vessel by the shape of their jib, long before her colors could be seen. (A jib is a triangular
sail in the front of the boat.) Shore-side meaning is to judge a person by outward appearance.
Dead Horse
A ceremony held by British crews when they had been at sea four weeks and had worked off
their initial advance, usually one months wages (and usually long gone). The term flogging a
dead horse alludes to the difficulty of getting any extra work from a crew during this period,
since, to them, it felt as though they were working for nothing.
Deep Six
A fathom, the unit of measurement in most maritime countries for the depth of the sea, is six feet.
Sailors used the term to refer to throwing something overboard and it has come to mean getting
rid of something.
Deliver a Broadside
A broadside was the simultaneous firing of the guns and/or canons on one side of a war ship.
Quite a blow, as can be imagined. Today it means much the same type of all-out attack, though
done (usually) with words.
Devil to Pay
Originally, this expression described one of the unpleasant tasks aboard a wooden
ship. The devil was the ships longest seam in the hull. Caulking was done with pay
or pitch (a kind of tar). The task of paying the devil (caulking the longest seam)
by squatting in the bilges was