Phrase Eslpod Nautical Daily Sailing People Familiar Hands

Many "nautical" (related to boats, sailing, and the ocean) "terms" (words) have "worked their way into" (become a part of) daily conversation, even though the speakers themselves might not really be thinking about their "original" (first; earliest) meaning.

For example, people sometimes talk about "getting to know the ropes" or becoming familiar with something: "I needed a few days to get to know the ropes, but now I know how to do the job well." This phrase originally referred to the need to become familiar with all the "ropes" (long fibers that are wrapped around each other to make a long, thick string, used for tying objects together) on a sailboat.

The phrase "all hands on deck" is used to say that everyone needs to work together and be involved in a project or effort. In sailing, it means that everyone on the ship needs to come onto the "deck" (the open, flat area of a ship) to help with something, especially before or during a storm. But now the phrase is common in business: "We need all hands on deck if we're going to fill this order by Thursday."

When ships returned "victoriously" (winning; having won something) from "battle" (one fight in a war), they "flew" (allowed to be seen in the air) colorful "flags" (pieces of rectangular material with images on them, often representing a country) to let everyone know that they had won. "Nowadays" (in modern times), the phrase "to pass with flying colors" means to do something very well and succeed without any problems: "She passed the test with flying colors." But few people know that the original phrase was a nautical term for the colorful flags hanging from a ship.