SHAGGY DOGS:TO BE caught between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is not advisable as there is no easy way out, writes Albert Jack.
On board the traditional wooden ships, sailors would regularly have to seal the seams between planks with hot tar to prevent them from leaking. The "devil" seam was the highest one adjacent to the waterway (or gutters) closest to the side of the ship. This was the longest seam on a boat and the most prone to leaking, so inevitably needed the most attention.
In heavy seas or during battle, a sailor may slip or could be knocked into the seam and find himself trapped halfway down the side of the ship, between the devil seam and the "deep blue sea". And that was no place to find yourself in at all.
The expression As Dull as Dishwasher has changed slightly since the Middle Ages, when it was first used to describe anything, or indeed any person, that was not clear, bright and interesting, like a fast-running stream or a babbling brook.
Instead, the object/person seemed boring and as dull as a ditch full of stagnant water and mud. "As dull as ditchwater" was the phrase used at the time and it is easy to see how that has changed over the years, the comparison being made instead with dull and dirty dishwater after the washing-up has been done.
To Bell the Cat is a wonderful expression used to describe any dangerous task carried out at great personal risk.
The origin of this phrase and why we use it can be found in William Langland's Piers Plowman(1377). This contains the tale of a family of mice who were terrorised by the fat, grumpy cat of the neighbourhood.
One day the mouse household held a family meeting to discuss how they could best deal with the surprise attacks and the youngest mouse came up with the notion of tying a bell around the cat's neck, so that all mice would be able to hear him coming.
This idea delighted all the others and they danced around in celebration until the wisest old mouse said: "That's all very well, but who will actually bell the cat?" (No one did in the end.)
There is a delightful example of this phrase in action in Scottish history. During the late 1480s, the nobility became deeply suspicious of King James III's apparently homosexual relationship with his favourite new architect, a man called Cochran.
Members of court met in secret and discussed ways of eliminating Cochran, who had been affecting their own relationships with the king. As the meetings came to a close, the unanimous decision was that he should be killed, whereupon Lord Gray asked, "Well, who will bell the cat then?"
Archibald Douglas, the feisty Earl of Angus, immediately replied: "I will bell this cat". The earl went out at once and seized the unfortunate Cochran and hanged him under the bridge at Lauder. It was an act that earned him the nickname "Bell-the-cat Douglas".
There have been periods throughout history when the phrase was more in use than at other times. In 1880, James Payn wrote:"Mrs and Miss Jennynge must bell the cat," [said Mrs Armytage.]
"What have I to do with cats?" inquired Mrs Jennynge wildly. "I hate cats."
"My dear Madam, it is a well-known proverb," explained Mrs Armytage. "What I mean is, that it is you who should ask Mr Josceline to say grace this evening."
Ten years later, Walter Scott wrote in his Journal (1890): "A fine manly fellow, who belled the cat with fortune."
Extracted fromShaggy Dogs and Black Sheep by Albert Jack (Penguin)