People of different professions have their own special rituals, beliefs and even unusual wishes and parting words. Some of these statements eventually turn into fixed turns. For example, "seven feet under the keel." What this means, we will consider in this article. We will also find out who came up with this expression and what it is used for.
"Seven feet under the keel": the meaning of phraseology
In the explanatory dictionary of Sergei Ivanovich Ozhegov, you can find the definition of the expression in question. It is noted there that the phraseological unit "seven feet under the keel" means the wish for a safe voyage in the fleet.
It turns out that the expression refers to sailors. It is a parting word, a kind of blessing to sail without unpleasant surprises.
How did it come about?
Origin of expression
Let's look at the composition of the phraseologism "seven feet under the keel". Let us turn again to the explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov. It states that a foot is an English and old Russian measure of length, which is 30.48 cm. And a keel is a longitudinal bar that runs along the entire length of the vessel in the middle of its bottom.
Beforemany of the sails were unpretentious. They had no more than two matches. Because of this, with a headwind, such ships were forced to anchor and wait for the wind to be fair. This state of affairs made it necessary to keep ships close to the coast. The open sea was dangerous for these fragile ships. But due to the fact that the ships were near the coast, they could run aground. The coastal rocks were also dangerous for them, on which they could break. In general, the danger was all around.
In those days, the draft of the ships was no more than 2 meters. The helmsmen who steer the ship tried to keep at least 7 feet under the keel. This was enough to not hit the ground even with the heaviest load. And 7 feet is about 2 meters.
This is how the expression-wish for the navy appeared. After all, these 7 feet played an important role in the life of the entire crew.
Synonyms
In addition to "seven feet under the keel" among the wishes of sailors going on a long voyage, there is the phrase "fair wind". This expression can be called a synonym for the phraseological unit we are considering. It also represents a wish for a safe sailing.
Also synonyms include such words and their combinations as “good luck”, “easy road”, “happy journey”, etc.
Use
Wishing "seven feet under the keel" to a sailor means wishing to sail to the appointed goal without danger. And there are a lot of them at sea: storms, pitching, shallows, reefs and more.
This expression is actively used inas a guide to sailors. If initially the wish was that the ship would not run aground, then over time it meant a safe voyage in general.
This idiom is also found in fiction. In works that tell about life at sea and sailors.
The expression is often used in the media as well. Sailor bloggers also use this steady phrase in articles on their favorite topics.
This idiom is found in various titles, titles of games, exhibitions, etc. It is often used when it comes to life on a ship, sailing, the navy and even pirates.
However, such a wish is sometimes used for expressiveness of speech when they simply wish a happy journey. Even if this road is not at all connected with the sea, sailing on a ship. This play on words is typical for journalists. It is they who love to attract the attention of readers, viewers and listeners with the expressive means of the language, in particular phraseological units.
Now, knowing the meaning of the considered expression, we can safely wish the sailors 7 feet under the keel and nothing less!
