The Sailor's Word-Book Part 93

FERRY-BOATS. Vessels or wherries duly licensed for conveying pa.s.sengers across a river or creek.

FETCH, TO. To reach, or arrive at; as, "we shall fetch to windward of the lighthouse this tack."

FETCH HEAD-WAY OR STERN-WAY. Said of a vessel gathering motion ahead or astern.

FETCHING THE PUMP. Pouring water into the upper part in order to expel the air contained between the lower box and that of the pump-spear.

(_See_ PUMP.)

FETCH OF A BAY OR GULF. The whole stretch from head to head, or point to point.

FETCH WAY, TO. Said of a gun, or anything which escapes from its place by the vessel's motion at sea.

FETTLE, TO. To fit, repair, or put in order. Also, a threat.

FEU-DE-JOIE. A salute fired by musketry on occasions of public rejoicing, so that it should pa.s.s from man to man rapidly and steadily, down one rank and up the other, giving one long continuous sound.

FEZ. A red cloth skull-cap, worn by the people of Fez and Morocco, and in general use amongst Mediterranean sailors.

F.G. The initials on a powder cask, denote _fine grain_.

FICHANT. In fortification, said of flanking fire which impinges on the face it defends; that is, of a line of defence where the angle of defence is less than a right angle.

FID. A square bar of wood or iron, with a shoulder at one end, used to support the weight of the top-mast when erected at the head of the lower mast, by pa.s.sing through a mortise or hole at the lower end of the former, and resting its ends on the trestle-trees, which are sustained by the head of the latter; the fid, therefore, must be withdrawn every time the mast is lowered; the topgallant-mast is retained at the head of the top-mast in the same manner. There is also a patent screw fid, which can be removed after hauling taut the mast rope, without having first to lift the mast. (_See_ MAST.) A fid is also a conical pin of hard wood, of any size from 10 inches downwards, tapering to a point, used to open the strands of a rope in splicing: of these some are large, for splicing cables, and some small, for the bolt-ropes of sails, &c. Fid is improperly applied to metal of the same shape; they are then termed _marling-spikes_ (called _stabbers_ by sail-makers--which see). Also, the piece of oak.u.m with which the vent of a gun is plugged. Some call it the _vent-plug_ (which see). Also, colloquially used for a quid or chew of tobacco, or a small but thick piece of anything, as of meat in clumsy carving.

FIDDED. When a mast has been swayed high enough the fid is then inserted, and the mast-rope relieved of the weight.

FIDDLE. A contrivance to prevent things from rolling off the table in bad weather. It takes its name from its resemblance to a fiddle, being made of small cords pa.s.sed through wooden bridges, and hauled very taut.

FIDDLE-BLOCK. A long sh.e.l.l, having one sheave over the other, and the lower smaller than the upper (_see_ LONG-TACKLES), in contradistinction to double blocks, which also have two sheaves, but one abreast of the other. They lie flatter and more snugly to the yards, and are chiefly used for lower-yard tackles.

FIDDLE-FISH. A name of the king-crab (_Limulus polyphemus_), from its supposed resemblance to that instrument.

FIDDLE-HEAD. When there is no figure; this means that the termination of the head is formed by a scroll turning aft or inward like a violin: in contradistinction to the _scroll-head_ (which see).

FIDE JUSSORS. Bail sureties in the instance court of the admiralty.

FIDLER. A small crab, with one large claw and a very small one. It burrows on drowned lands.

FIDLER'S GREEN. A sort of sensual Elysium, where sailors are represented as enjoying, for "a full due," those amenities for which Wapping, Castle Rag, and the back of Portsmouth Point were once noted.

FIELD. The country in which military operations are being carried on; the scene of a conflict.--_Taking the field_, quitting cantonments, and going on active service.

FIELD-ALLOWANCE. A small extra payment made to officers, and sometimes to privates, on active service in the field, to compensate partly the enhanced price of all necessaries.

FIELD-ARTILLERY. Light ordnance fitted for travel as to be applicable to the active operations of the field. The term generally includes the officers, men, and horses, also the service. According to the present excellent establishment of rifled field-guns for the British service, the Armstrong 12-pounder represents the average type.

FIELD-DAY. A day of exercise and evolutions.

FIELD-FORTIFICATION. Is the constructing of works intended to strengthen the position of forces operating in the field; works of that temporary and limited quality which may be easily formed with the means at hand.

FIELD-GLa.s.s. A telescope, frequently so termed. Also, the binocular or opera-gla.s.s, used for field-work, night-work, and at races.

FIELD-GUN. _See_ FIELD-ARTILLERY.

FIELD-ICE. A sheet of smooth frozen water of a general thickness, and of an extent too large for its boundaries to be seen over from a ship's mast-head. Field-ice may be all adrift, but yet pressed together, and when any ma.s.ses detach, as they suddenly do, they are termed floes. They as suddenly become pressed home again and cause nips. (_See_ NIP.)

FIELD-MARSHAL. The highest rank in the British army.

FIELD-OFFICERS. The colonel, lieutenant-colonels, and majors of a regiment; so called because, not having the common duties in quarters, they are mostly seen when the troops are in the field.

FIELD OF VIEW. That s.p.a.ce which is visible in a telescope at one view, and which diminishes under augmenting eye-pieces.

FIELD-PIECES. Light guns proper to be taken into field operations; one or more of them is now carried by all ships of war for land service.

FIELD-WORKS. The constructions of _field-fortification_ (which see).

FIERY-FLAW, OR FIRE-FLAIRE. A northern designation of the sting-ray (_Raia pastinaca_).

FIFE-RAILS. Those forming the upper fence of the bulwarks on each side of the quarter-deck and p.o.o.p in men-of-war. Also, the rail round the main-mast, and encircling both it and the pumps, furnished with belaying pins for the running rigging, though now obsolete under the iron rule.

FIFER AND FIDLER. Two very important aids in eliciting exact discipline; for hoisting, warping, and heaving at the capstan in proper time; rated a second-cla.s.s petty officer styled "musician," pay 30, 8_s._ per annum.

FIG, OR FULL FIG. In best clothes. Full dress.

FIGALA. An East Indian craft with one mast, generally rowed with paddles.

FIGGER. The soubriquet of a Smyrna trader.

FIGGIE-DOWDIE. A west-country pudding, made with raisins, and much in vogue at sea among the Cornish and Devon men. Cant west-country term for plum-pudding--figs and dough.

FIGHT, SEA. _See_ BATTLE, ENGAGEMENT, EXERCISE, &c.

FIGHTING-LANTERNS. Kept in their respective fire-buckets at quarters, in readiness for night action only. There is usually one attached to each gun; the bucket is fragile, but intended to screen the light, and furnished with a fire-lanyard.

FIGHTING-SAILS. Those to which a ship is reduced when going into action; formerly implying the courses and top-sails only.

FIGHTING-WATER. Casks filled and placed on the decks, expressly for use in action. When the head was broken in, vinegar was added to prevent too much being taken by one man.

FIGHTS. Waste-cloths formerly hung about a ship, to conceal the men from the enemy. Shakspeare, who knew everything, makes Pistol bombastically exclaim--

"Clap on more sails: pursue, up with your fights."

_Close fights_, synonymous with _close quarters_.

FIGURE. The princ.i.p.al piece of carved work or ornament at the head of a ship, whether scroll, billet, or figure-head.

FIGURE-HEAD. A carved bust or full-length figure over the cut-water of a ship; the remains of an ancient superst.i.tion. The Carthaginians carried small images to sea to protect their ships, as the Roman Catholics do still. The sign or head of St. Paul's ship was Castor and Pollux.

FIGURE OF EIGHT. A knot made by pa.s.sing the end of a rope over and round the standing part, up over its own part, and down through the bight.