WORDS AHOY!

Sail away with these 10 nautical terms!

Image: Crissy Jarvis

English is a true seafaring language, forged in the journeys of merchants and navies across the world’s seas. Contact with different cultures and languages has left an indelible mark on the language, and also, unsurprisingly, many nautical terms have seamlessly woven themselves into our vocabulary.

Let's dive deep into the origins of many common idioms and words with maritime roots, and discover the captivating stories behind these linguistic tides.

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From sea battles to gambling tables, the term "long shot" has sailed through time with its core meaning unaltered. Dating back to the age of naval warfare, it referred to an improbable cannon shot from a considerable distance. Taking into account the inherent inaccuracy of early cannons, and the difficulties of aiming at sea, hitting your target in such conditions was considered more a result of luck than skill. Today, we still use it when the odds seem distant and success is a gamble.

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Now mainly used together to refer to useless and discarded objects, these two terms describe slightly different things. Flotsam refers to floating objects that were accidentally lost at sea, or debris from a shipwreck that floats, while jetsam is deliberately thrown overboard. Interestingly, these words are still part of the legal lingo of maritime law.

Image: Yuda Feby

Ever felt slightly blue on a cloudy day? Well, you can thank sailors for that, too! While experiencing melancholy or feeling homesick during prolonged journeys was a common occurrence among seafarers, it turns out that the word initially referred to the blue flags that a crew would fly after the death of a captain or officer at sea. Eventually, the color became strongly associated with feelings of sadness and grief.

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When the wind unexpectedly shifts and blows the sails flat or against their masts, it is said that the ship is "taken aback." The term originated around the year 1200, derived from the Old English phrase "on bæc," meaning "at or on the back." In everyday language, it refers to being surprised or caught off guard.

Image: Annie Spratt

Sailors once proudly displayed their ship's flags to indicate their allegiance. However, some would deceptively fly a false flag (another phrase that became part of our modern vocabulary) until they were close enough to attack. It was generally accepted, even among pirates, that a ship should not fire without showing her true colors. Today, "showing one's true colors" means revealing one's real intentions. The phrase "to pass with flying colors" has a similar origin, as ships would hoist their regimental flags after winning a battle.

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When a ship keeps a safe distance from the shore to avoid underwater dangers, it's said to be "loof" or windward. It’s opposite would be "alee." The sailing technique of keeping aloof by steering away from the shore eventually influenced other uses of the word, regarding someone keeping physical or emotional distance from others.

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This expression combines "by the wind" and "large," two nautical terms that refer to different sailing directions. To sail "by the wind" means sailing into the wind, or as close to the wind as possible, while sailing "large" means to sail in the opposite direction of the wind, or as far from it as possible. Eventually, the combined terms evolved to mean "on the whole", or "considering all factors."

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Sailing through the equatorial regions of the globe, where sometimes there is little to no wind, became known as being "in the doldrums." Sail-powered ships would often become stuck in this region for weeks at a time until a sufficiently strong current of air could take them out of the dangerously quiet waters. Now, the phrase symbolizes a period of depressed inactivity or general stagnation.

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Sailing novices of yore had to learn the numerous ropes and rigging of ships to become able crew members. Learning to identify the many different types of ropes, knots, and sails aboard a ship was a complex task that required time and practice, but it was a crucial learning process. Thus, knowing the ropes became synonymous with being knowledgeable and experienced.

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This phrase has quite a humorous origin story. Reportedly, Admiral Horatio Nelson gave birth to this expression during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, where he literally turned a blind eye to orders by putting his telescope to his blind eye, ignoring a flagship’s signals to withdraw from the battlefield. Today, the phrase signifies willful ignorance, or pretending to not see something.

Surprise!

Did you know these 10 exhilarating twist endings?

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Who doesn’t love a good ending? Those final moments of entertainment are definitely the turning point that elevates some books and films to masterpiece status. And it should be said—sticking the landing is no easy task. Endings are where all loose ends of a story come together, and it takes a dedicated artist to truly bring their work of art to a perfect close.

With that in mind, we believe a special mention is due to those pieces of media that go even further and completely defy our expectations with their endings. Yes, we’re talking about those unforgettable twists in movies and books that shook us to our core and made us reconsider the entire experience.

Without further ado, here are 10 of the best twist endings out there. Don’t worry—this list is entirely spoiler-free. Enjoy!

Image: Maxime Roedel

We’ll start with an American classic. In 1960, while Alfred Hitchcock was filming what many consider his ultimate masterpiece, he instructed his production crew to visit bookstores across Los Angeles and buy every available copy of Robert Bloch’s 1959 novel Psycho. His reason? He wanted to prevent future viewers from spoiling the movie’s twist ending.

While there’s no way to know whether Hitchcock’s strategy was successful, Psycho’s shocking conclusion took the world by storm. Its masterful final reveal instantly cemented the film as a classic, securing its place as one of the greatest movies in cinematic history.

Image: Auke Bakker

Speaking of absolute classics, let’s move on to a film that completely revolutionized the industry. Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane is still considered one of the greatest movies of all time, and many arguments support this claim—from its brilliant script to its groundbreaking technical achievements.

A key element that makes this film so remarkable is the mystery surrounding the word Rosebud—the single word Charles Kane repeats throughout the movie. As promised, we won’t spoil it in case you haven’t seen it, but let’s just say the reveal is just as revolutionary as the film itself.

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Henry James’ novella The Turn of the Screw radically changed the ghost story genre. Written in 1898, it follows a governess who moves with two children to a remote country house. After a series of inexplicable occurrences, they become convinced the house is haunted.

What makes this seemingly simple story so remarkable is the way the ending completely turns the story upside down. The Turn of the Screw has been adapted multiple times for the big screen and has influenced other iconic films, such as the 2001 movie The Others, starring Nicole Kidman.

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Chuck Palahniuk's 1996 novel Fight Club is best known for its 1999 film adaptation, starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt. With a title like Fight Club, you might expect an adrenaline-fueled action flick, but the film is far more than that. It’s a deep exploration of human nature and the dangers of modern society, culminating in a jaw-dropping twist ending.

A big part of what makes this movie so compelling is the performances by Pitt and Norton. They play seemingly opposite characters who unexpectedly find in each other the perfect counterpart to their personalities. Without revealing the ending, the film’s climax offers a striking portrayal of what happens when we confront the most destructive aspects of our personalities.

Image: Steinar Engeland

M. Night Shyamalan is a truly divisive director—some consider him a genius, while others find his movies contrived and difficult to follow. Regardless, most viewers agree that his 1999 film The Sixth Sense, which was nominated for six Academy Awards, is the pinnacle of his filmography.

The movie follows a child psychologist (played by Bruce Willis) who finds himself at a crossroads with a young patient named Cole, a boy cursed with the ability to see ghosts. Most of us remember its jaw-dropping ending (don’t worry, we won’t spoil it), which forever changes the way audiences experience the film on repeat viewings.

Image: Jon Butterworth

Martin Scorsese’s 2010 thriller Shutter Island took an already unsettling location—a hospital for the criminally insane—and made it even more terrifying. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo, the film follows U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels as he investigates a disappearance on the remote Shutter Island.

Based on the 2003 novel of the same name, Shutter Island is most remarkable for how its twist ending is meticulously built throughout the film. While undeniably surprising, the movie masterfully plants small clues and hints that, in retrospect, help it make sense.

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The private investigator genre is one of the cornerstones of modern mystery and thriller films. In that sense, the 1974 neo-noir mystery Chinatown feels like a love letter to the iconic films that helped build this genre.

The film follows Jake Gittes (played by Jack Nicholson), a detective initially assigned a seemingly simple case. However, what begins as a routine job soon unravels into a vast web of conspiracies, culminating in Gittes uncovering the shocking truth at the heart of it all.

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We can probably skip the spoiler warning for this one—there’s hardly a living soul who can’t quote this movie’s most famous line. Still, we promised you a completely spoiler-free article, so we’ll stick to our guns and keep the twist under wraps.

The Empire Strikes Back is perhaps the most perfect example of a modern twist ending. Everything about this reveal is unforgettable: James Earl Jones’ commanding delivery, the shot of Darth Vader’s unyielding expression, and Mark Hamill’s raw, emotional performance. Honestly, can you think of a more quotable line of dialogue in movie history?

Image: Arnór Ingi Júlíusson

Who knew that feuding magicians could make for such a compelling story? Starring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, the 2006 film The Prestige, based on the 1995 novel of the same name, follows the intense rivalry between two 19th-century magicians and the extreme lengths they go to upstage each other.

Not only does The Prestige weave a gripping narrative, but it also immerses viewers in the fascinating world of Victorian-era magic shows. On top of that, director Christopher Nolan delivers a jaw-dropping twist ending that left audiences flabbergasted.

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Let’s wrap up this article with one of the most literal examples of a twist ending. The 1995 film The Usual Suspects follows a group of robbers who become the focus of a police investigation. The entire story unfolds through the interrogation of a small-time criminal named Verbal Kint, who is being questioned about his connection to a mysterious and elusive figure known as Keyser Söze.

One of the film’s greatest strengths is its ability to keep the audience guessing about Keyser Söze’s true identity. It isn’t until the very last scene that The Usual Suspects finally reveals the real identity of this criminal mastermind. A secret that we’ll, of course, keep to ourselves.