Nautical terms

[penberth3]

Bit too cryptic for me. I'll try and work it out

A'thwart, A'wash - does that help?

 

[capnsensible]

A'thwart, A'wash - does that help?

I wonder why dictionaries don't agree with that? Or are you 'avin a'laugh? ?

 

[capnsensible]

On occasions we used to pass the time by opening a dictionary at random to see who could find a page with no nautical references, which was unusual. They were exciting times.

Sounds like a good mid ocean watch keeping game. And somewhat longer lasting than I spy..

 

[KREW2]

A'thwart, A'wash - does that help?

What is a HOY?

 

[Hacker]

 

[laika]

None of the terms you've quoted begins with "A".

A'thwart, A'wash - does that help?

"a-" here is a prefix meaning on/in/towards or "in the state of" rather than being a contraction so actually all those words *do* start with an "a". Why do we see it disproportionately in nautical terms? I can only speculate that the more archaic sailors sound the more people think they know what they're talking about. Tom Cunliffe seems to have made a career out of being largely incomprehensible to most people.