BEAKHEAD (HEAD)-- In sailing ships, the platform from the stem (front) of the ship was called the beakhead. It became ideal for bathroom use because of the constant flushing of waves. So sailors and even those shorebound refer to the "head" as a place to eliminate. I always wondered where people on the sailing ships relieved themselves.
STEM TO STERN-- Not in the article, but I've heard it often. Stem was front of the ship and stern was the back. To clean something stem to stern was to clean all of it.
LOOSE CANNONS-- For people who behave recklessly. Term is from is extreme damage that could be caused on sailing warships when cannons broke lose from their restrictions. Great loss and damage could be done.
In 1545, the pride of the English Navy, King George VIII's Mary Rose left Portsmouth Harbor to fight the French and the lower gunports became flooded, causing the ship to list sharply. Twenty cannons broke loose and the ship sank quickly with the loss of nearly everyone on board.
CHRISTENING SHIPS WITH BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE-- Norsemen and Romans believed the keels of ships should be christened with the blood of live persons to insure good luck and fortune. The blood came from slaves or prisoners who were run over as the ship slid down to the water. Eventually, red wine was used instead.
When the USS Constitution was launched in Boston, New England teetotalers used plain water. The ship wouldn't budge until a bottle of Old Maderia was smashed across the bow and then the ship slid down the ways easily.
Well, That Was the Story, Anyway. --Cooter
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