Balls and Brass Monkeys

[Master Scribe]

just so you know......

In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters carried iron cannons. Those cannons fired round iron cannon balls.. It was necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon. However, how to prevent them from rolling about the deck? The best storage method devised was a square-based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on four resting on nine, which rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a small area right next to the cannon. There was only one problem...how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding or rolling from under the others. The solution was a metal plate called a "Monkey" with 16 round indentations. However, if this plate were made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make "Brass Monkeys.." Few landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much faster than iron when chilled. Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannonballs would come right off the monkey. Thus, it was quite literally, "Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey." (All this time, you thought that was an improper _expression, didn't you.)

Have a good days ya'll

[Cheyanne]

WhoooooooooooHooooooooo! I love it when I learn something new!!! Thanks MasterScribe! :D

[MilkToast]

Seeing as I appear to be one of the resident cynics, I checked out the "brass monkey" story on the popular snopes.com site... sadly it appears that it is not really true. However if you take the time to read their analysis (http://www.snopes.com/language/stories/brass.htm) you get to learn about about singeing the hair off a brass monkey. :D

[Playful1]

I actually did a project on the real place that common swears came from...try these:

In the 1800's when a man was convited of Rape they were placed in the stockades for between a week to a month (depended on the location and severity of the incident). However the term "Rape" was not used at that time. Instead it was written into the judicial books as "Forced and Unconcented Carnal Knowledge" This was obviously too long to fit on the slab of wood over the stockades that listed the persons crime, so the acranym was used "F.U.C.K"
Thus the term "Fuck you" really means "I'm going to Rape you" and the term "I'm fucked" litteraly means "I've been Raped". The website doesn't agree with this one but because their source speaks of "For" Which I agree with. I found other sources that seem to agree with the "Forced" option...but oh well.

On a bed there is a portion that runs around the edge of the bed called the "Tick". In the days where prostitution was seen as regular behavior for high class men, many of the men became very snobish about the quality of the sex a prostitute would give. If they did not feel the girl was preforming up to his expectations she would be litterly thrown off the bed. There by being "Ticked Off".

[MilkToast]

I actually did a project on the real place that common swears came from...try these:

In the 1800's when a man was convited of Rape they were placed in the stockades for between a week to a month (depended on the location and severity of the incident). However the term "Rape" was not used at that time. Instead it was written into the judicial books as "Forced, Unconcented Carnial Knowledge" This was obviously too long to fit on the slab of wood over the stockades that listed the persons crime, so the acranym was used "F.U.C.K"
Thus the term "Fuck you" really means "I'm going to Rape you" and the term "I'm fucked" litteraly means "I've been Raped".

This one came up here before and I opted to dig a little on this myself. I have had to rely on the work done by other people (mainly those that print the dictionaries) but in all of those cases the etimology of the work fuck is led back to either Dutch or Swedish (which likely are rooted in the same origin).

This is from the Meriam Webster dictionary (I stole this from the online version):
"Etymology: akin to Dutch fokken to breed (cattle), Swedish dialect fokka to copulate"

And while I can not fully trust the folks over a Snopes.com they do seem to have a good amount of fact checking going on over there. See what they have to say on this one as well: http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/fuck.htm

I would be more than happy to have references pointing to a different etimology for the word. I am always looking to pack my brain with even more stuff that my friends get to have the pleasure of rolling their eyes at :D

[cowgirltease]

just so you know......

In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters carried iron cannons. Those cannons fired round iron cannon balls.. It was necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon. However, how to prevent them from rolling about the deck? The best storage method devised was a square-based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on four resting on nine, which rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a small area right next to the cannon. There was only one problem...how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding or rolling from under the others. The solution was a metal plate called a "Monkey" with 16 round indentations. However, if this plate were made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make "Brass Monkeys.." Few landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much faster than iron when chilled. Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannonballs would come right off the monkey. Thus, it was quite literally, "Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey." (All this time, you thought that was an improper _expression, didn't you.)

Have a good days ya'll
That's pretty neat! :)

[PantyFanatic]

LMAO :rofl:

I enjoy the origin stories of saying, whether it be fact or fable.:D My seat is next to MilkToast on how much I believe of anything people may have done. :confused: But the brass monkey story is one that proves itself to be a cute myth. :) While the coefficient of expansion may be different for copper and zinc to a ferrous material, it would have to be close to that of a gas for that to happen. LOL

Maybe it was some kind of penis construction. We all know what cold can do to that. ;)



:grin:

[cowgirltease]

Ok lets make this a scientific experiment..... All you men line up we need all the balls we can get. :p

[dicksbro]

I like a woman ^^^^ who takes things into her own hands. ;)

[Oldfart]

Most of the Etymology sites say to be very very wary of acronymic origins.

There are some which are generally accepted, like GLITCH (great little incident to confuse Houston),

but most predate the language they're supposed to be acronised from.

Cannon balls are often pictured in tidy pyramids for display, but on the shuddering deck of a warship

this is not ideal.

Holding trays were of oak on the "Mary Rose" and probably of most ships of the line in

day to day dealings.

Wilton says that: And the earliest cite of the phrase in the OED2 is from 1929--well past the age of sail. Also, that first appearance is cold enough to freeze the tail off a brass monkey. Note the change in anatomical parts.

[wyndhy]

dont' forget snafu...that's a word :D

[Aqua]

dont' forget snafu...that's a word :D
Of course... it is right there with Fubar. :D lol

[Sharni]

Fubar is definately a word *LOL*

[MilkToast]

and let's not forget bohica either :D

[wyndhy]

what's bohica?

[Aqua]

what's bohica?
Bend over, here it comes again

:D :p

[campingboy]

30 canon balls? There would be no need for that many beside any canon on a sailing ship. A ship on the line would at best be able to get 3 maybe 4 rounds off. The canon heated up became unusable. The fellow packing the powered would get his head blown off.

Another sailing term someone can research. POSH. Port out, Starboard Home. The term was used in the days of the East India Trading Company. Africa would be on Port on the way there and Starboard on the way home.

[Oldfart]

The Oz Army has another "woftam".

Waste of fucking time and money.

[Oldfart]

I read of an American '50s military word "bort".

Brains of a retarded tadpole.

Probably not a compliment.

[wyndhy]

Bend over, here it comes again

:D :p

ok. *bends over*
;)

[wyndhy]

now what? :D