美语词汇掌故第 43 课：Deep Six: It Is Well Hidden-1

Sailors seem -- to those of us on land -- to lead exciting, even mysterious lives. Many things are different at sea. Even the language is different.

Simple words like "right" and "left" are not the same. On a ship, "right" is "starboard." And "left" is "port."

Sailors also are responsible for many colorful English expressions.

One of these is, "deep-six." It means to hide something or put it where it will not be found. You can also "deep-six," or reject a proposal.

One language expert says the "deep six" is the bottom of the ocean. "Deep," in this case, means deepest.

The "six" in the expression comes from the six feet that make up a fathom -- a little less than two meters.

Sailors measure the depth of the water in fathoms. Thus, the "deep six" is the deepest fathom...the final six feet at the bottom of the ocean.

A sailor who never wants to see something again will "give it the deep-six" -- dropping it from the ship to the ocean bottom.

You can "deep-six" something even if you are not a sailor. All you do is throw it away or put it where it will never be found.

You might, for example, "deep-six" a unplesant letter from a former friend.

Another sea-going expression is, "batten down the hatches." That is what sailors do to prepare their ship for a storm at sea.