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“As the crow flies”
An old sailing term. Ships unsure of their position in coastal waters traditionally released a crow, which would fly towards the nearest dry land, thus giving the vessel at least a rudimentary navigational fix. The tallest lookout platform on a ship, from which said crow was observed, was called the “crow’s nest.”
“Olly olly oxen free!”
Shouted at the end of a game of hide-and-seek, it lets all remaining hiders know that they can emerge safely. Though there are many variations on this phrase (such as “all ye, all ye, all’s set free”), it’s probably a corruption of a German phrase, “Alle, alle auch sind frei” (literally, “Everyone, everyone also is free”).
“Cut to the chase”
We can thank inexperienced silent filmmakers for this one. Many early films (and come to think of it, contemporary films) climaxed in chase sequences. If a film was hampered by extensive and laborious exposition thanks to a cut-rate screenwriter, producers would often ham-handedly fix the problem with an abrupt “cut” to the chase.
“On the lam”
“Lam” comes from the Icelandic “lemje,” meaning “beat” or “thrash.” Thus, “on the lam” and “beat it” mean approximately the same thing: to run away; to beat the ground with your feet.
“Over the top”
A World War I-era military phrase referring to trench warfare. In order to launch an attack from a trench, one had to go “over the top” of the defensive parapet and into the line of enemy fire. Here’s a haunting (and rare) color print of French soldiers in a trench, circa 1916:
““Lam” comes from the Icelandic “lemje,” meaning “beat” or “thrash.” Thus, “on the lam” and “beat it” mean approximately the same thing: to run away; to beat the ground with your feet.”
Could this be a reference to hunting: “beaters” would thrash through the brush with sticks driving game towards the hunters? So “beat it” could mean “go into the woods and go through the brush” meaning: “go away”, or “run away”
posted by fwh349fvcyc2h4 on 12-21-2006 at 3:39 pm
RE; As the Crow Flies:
Your photo is not of a crows nest, it is a “top” referred to “fighting top” in sailing warships. Its purpose was to spread the mast supporting stays to give them a better “purchase”. In warships, the marines were stationed there to shoot downward on an enemy vessel.
posted by richard vogel on 12-25-2006 at 10:10 am
Re: As the Crow Flies:
Sailing ship masts were mostly in three sections: lower mast (stepped into the keel), topmast (attached to the lower mast) and the topgallant mast (attached to the topmast). The platform shown in the image is at the juction of the lower mast and the topmast. At the junction of the top and topgallant masts there were just “crosstrees” like the spreaders in a modern yacht to spread the topgallant mast shrouds. Lookouts were long stationed on the crosstrees, with little protection from the weather. In the 19th century whaling ships, which had a major commercial interest in the wellbeing of their lookouts, provided them with “dodgers” or an empty cask for protection. This is what gave the crow its nest. The crowsnest later became a fixture in all ships, whose importance dwindled with the emergence of radar.
posted by John McRuer on 4-21-2007 at 1:05 pm
The four soldiers on the left side of the image are French, wearing the standard “horizon blue” uniform. The soldier on the right is a Belgian. Because Belgium was occupied by the Germans, Belgian uniforms were manufactured in Britain. For reasons of production efficiency, they were made of the same “khaki” (olive/brown) cloth as British uniforms.
posted by Frank on 1-31-2008 at 9:18 am