There’s good motive to consider that sailors have all the time slung salty language on the high seas. Most sailors had been raised in religious houses and fully understood that throwing around the word “rattling” was sinful business, but that was additionally part of the enchantment. We reached out to Dave Winkler, a retired Navy Reserve commander and now a historian with the Naval Historic Basis, who relayed a story about a crewmate who practically jumped overboard when the brand new skipper handed down a “no swearing” order. To “spin a yarn” is sailor-communicate for telling a narrative and references the nautical follow of twisting fibers collectively to kind a thick rope. Captains whipped and beat men for less, and mutinies have been plotted over such seemingly tame phrases. Successful acceptance into the sailors’ brotherhood typically meant actively rejecting the mores of mainstream society, not less than while onboard the ship. From the late 17th through the 19th century, there was arguably no profession more harmful and technically demanding as being a crewmember on a large sailing vessel, says Marc Nucup, public historian on the Mariners’ Museum and Park in Newport News, Virginia. In reality, “son of a bitch” might need been essentially the most potent “fighting words” in the English language, both on and off the water. To drive his level residence, Gilje references the Boston Massacre, the infamous incident in which British troopers fired on a crowd of rioting civilians in Boston in 1770, killing 5 American colonists in the lead-up to the Revolutionary War. Because the angry Bostonians first clashed with the British troopers, one boy pointed to a soldier and cried out, “That is the son of a bitch that knocked me down.” That would have almost actually made the soldier’s blood boil. What Did You Say About My Momma? Each facet of sailing required coordinated teamwork and a “weak link” on the crew could cause grave injury or demise. What Did You Say About My Momma? Successful the belief and respect of your crewmates was essential, which meant convincing them you have been a part of the insular brotherhood of sailors. Even the adjective “salty,” meaning crude language, originated in the late 1800s as a reference to the “colorful” culture and vocabulary of sailors. If “damn” was unhealthy enough, then what was considered a actually vile instance of “swearing like a sailor”? However the insults and taunts did not stop there. Gilje says that over time sailors took more and more pride in their salty reputation, and whereas insults like “son of a bitch” grew to become widespread amongst nineteenth-century Americans of all professions, sailors “embraced cursing with a distinct gusto” and elevated it into an “artwork form.” The power to swear freely was romanticized as one of the liberties of life at sea and “swearing like a sailor” came to characterize a sure type of manly maritime life-style. And to call a man a “son of a bitch” was an unforgivable offense considering the pedestals upon which young sailors placed their angel mothers. Part of speaking like a sailor was being conversant in all of the specialized shipboard jargon – from scuppers to scuttlebutts – which itself may sound like a international language. But proficiency with foul language (not less than in keeping with 18th-century standards) was also a positive sign that you have been an skilled and trusted hand. HowStuffWorks earns a small affiliate fee while you buy via links on our site. To call a woman a “bitch” in the 18th and nineteenth century was to deem her lower than human and literally bestial. Do trendy sailors still deserve the status as prolific and creative cussers? In his book, Gilje discovered a number of accounts of males aboard a ship practically killing each other over being called the phrase. To fashionable ears, the phrase “rattling” barely registers as unhealthy language, but within the highly religious culture of 18th- and 19th-century America, “damn” packed a severe punch. So, what was it precisely about nautical life that turned good Christian boys into foul-mouthed seamen and popularized the notion of “swearing like a sailor”? As historian Paul Gilje explained his glorious e-book, “To Swear Like a Sailor: Maritime Culture in America 1750-1850,” misusing the word “damn” may violate two different Christian taboos: 1) taking the Lord’s identify in vain (as in “God damn you!”) or 2) putting your self on the same stage as God by damning everything from unhealthy wind to a drunken captain.