Re: Digest Number 1298 - "dead horse"
While I have heard a couple of 'definition's {some which make NO sense
or have ANYTHING to do with the sea} here's one that I have seen a
number of times. This one is from "The Facts on File Dictionary of
Nautical Terms" . . .
'dead horse' - noun - An advance in pay [usually a computer mistake
today]. "I'm working off a $1,000.oo dead horse
over the next three months." When sailors were
advanced pay before leaving port, they worked for several weeks at sea
before they had worked off their 'dead horses' ".
Remember, this was in the brutal days of men 'before the mast' on wind
ships. The concept of the phrase 'to beat {or flog} a dead horse' meant
that it was useless to 'start', beat, or flog a sailor to get more work
out of him during this time. To put it into modern parlance, he was
'working on your nickel and there was no financial incentive.
Realize, of course, that there are people who have gained Ph.D's by
writing a thesis on such simple and relatively innocuous phrases.
Regards,
Ron Magen
Backyard Boatshop
or have ANYTHING to do with the sea} here's one that I have seen a
number of times. This one is from "The Facts on File Dictionary of
Nautical Terms" . . .
'dead horse' - noun - An advance in pay [usually a computer mistake
today]. "I'm working off a $1,000.oo dead horse
over the next three months." When sailors were
advanced pay before leaving port, they worked for several weeks at sea
before they had worked off their 'dead horses' ".
Remember, this was in the brutal days of men 'before the mast' on wind
ships. The concept of the phrase 'to beat {or flog} a dead horse' meant
that it was useless to 'start', beat, or flog a sailor to get more work
out of him during this time. To put it into modern parlance, he was
'working on your nickel and there was no financial incentive.
Realize, of course, that there are people who have gained Ph.D's by
writing a thesis on such simple and relatively innocuous phrases.
Regards,
Ron Magen
Backyard Boatshop