More sayings and their origins

The following two sayings have their origins in the shipping world.  The first is said of someone who is ’swinging the lead’.  This is usually said of someone who tends to waste time really doing nothing while at the same time appearing to be busy.  That person is simply trying to avoid doing something that s/he really doesn’t want to do.  How many parents have had this problem with their children when they have been asked to help in some way?  The origins of this saying go back to the time when the ships didn’t have the navigational aids that they do today. 

A modern-day liner that has all the latest technological aids to navigation

Many years ago there was no sonar system to help detect any obstacle beneath the water level where it couldn’t be seen.  In these circumstances, the only way to determine whether a course was safe or not was to measure its depth.  A deck hand was called to put over the edge of the boat a long rope that had a lead weight attached to the end.  The rope was marked at one-foot intervals and thus putting the string and weight into the water, the water level could be measured.  It was often the case that the deck hand who wanted to prolong the process and thus delay going back to a more tedious or less desirable job, would go to a remote part of the ship and swing the string back and forth for a couple of minutes before actually putting it in the water.  Hence came the saying ‘swinging the lead’ meaning to waste time or delay doing something else.

The other saying connected to shipping is when you refer to something as ‘in A1 condition’.  A society in London known as Lloyd’s Register produces each year a list of ships.  The register records the condition of each ship.  The letter refers to the condition of the hull while the number refers to the condition of the fittings inside the ship.  Thus A1 means that a ship is in excellent all-round condition.



A1 signifies the best condition both inside and out





Nowadays we use the expression about anything that is in very good condition or about someone’s health, especially when recovering after an illness.  A1 is a high goal to reach for in life but feels good if we can manage it!