James Baquet

    Becky sees her classmate Lily in the common room of their dorm.

    Becky: Ahoy there, Matey!

    Lily: What? What does that mean?

    Becky: “Ahoy there” means “hello.”

    Lily: Where does it come from?

    Becky: Actually, it’s just a sound, kind of like “hey.” But then again, “hello” is based on a kind of yell, too.

    Lily: Really?

    Becky: Yeah. In fact, the word “hello” is not even a couple of hundred years old. And get this: Alexander Graham Bell —

    Lily: — who invented the telephone —

    Becky: — right. He suggested “Ahoy” as the greeting to use on the phone. It was Thomas Edison who suggested “hello” instead.

    Lily: So what about “Matey?”

    Becky: Well, “ahoy” was commonly used by sailors.

    Lily: And pirates?

    Becky: Yes, them too. And “Matey” is supposedly what they called each other.

    Lily: Oh, like people from the United Kingdom and Australia call each other “Mate.” It means something like “partner,” right?

    Becky: Yes. Husbands and wives, or male/female pairs of animals, can be called “mates.” But so can two matching gloves, or shoes.

    Lily: Got it.

    Becky: Actually, I was just reading that the sailing life has given us lots of funny words. Want to hear some?

    Lily: Sure!

    Becky: Well, for instance, can you guess what “landlubber” means?

    Lily: One who loves the land?

    Becky: Not “lover,” LUBBER. The word by itself means someone who’s stupid, or clumsy.

    Lily: So maybe a sailor would use this to describe someone who’s not skillful at sailing?

    Becky: Exactly! Kind of like a beginner. Now, how about “scuttlebutt?”

    Lily: I have no idea.

    Becky: Believe it or not, a “butt” was a sort of barrel or big bottle. You could talk about a “butt of wine.”

    Lily: Okay...

    Becky: And “scuttle” was a kind of opening. So the “scuttle butt” was an open water barrel, where men would gather to get a drink.

    Lily: So that’s what it means?

    Becky: Actually, while they were standing there, they would share news with each other. So today, “scuttlebutt” means gossip or rumors. There are lots of weird words like that, that have changed meaning over time. Another one is “groggy.”

    Lily: That means sleepy, right?

    Becky: Right. But it can also mean confused, or — and this is important — drunk.

    Lily: Why?

    Becky: Well, “grog” was a name for a drink made of rum and water. After dinking it, you might feel —

    Lily: Groggy! That’s cool!

    Becky: Yeah. “Grog” was the name of an officer who didn’t want to waste rum, so he came up with the idea of adding water. And they named the drink after him.