GUILLEMOT. A web-footed diving sea-bird allied to the auks.
GUIMAD. A small fish of the river Dee.
GUINEA-BOAT. A fast-rowing galley, of former times, expressly built for
smuggling gold across the Channel, in use at Deal.
GUINEAMAN. A negro slave-ship.
GUINEA-PIGS. The younger midshipmen of an Indiaman.
GUIST. The same as _guess_ or _guest_ (which see).
GULDEN. A name for a water-fowl.
GULF, OR GULPH. A capacious bay, and sometimes taking the name of a sea
when it is very extensive; such are the Euxine or Black Sea, otherwise
called the Gulf of Constantinople; the Adriatic Sea, called also the
Gulf of Venice; the Mediterranean is itself a prodigious specimen. A
gulf is, strictly speaking, distinguished from a sea in being smaller,
and from a bay in being larger and deeper than it is broad. It is
observed that the sea is always most dangerous near gulfs, from the
currents being penned up by the shores.
GULF-STREAM. Is especially referable to that of Mexico, the waters of
which flow in a warm stream at various velocities over the banks between
Cuba and America, past the Bermudas, touch the tail of the great bank of
Newfoundland, and thence in a sweep to Europe, part going north, and the
other southerly down to the tropics again.
GULF-WEED. The _Fucus natans_, considered to belong to the Gulf Stream,
and found floating in the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic. Many small
crustacea live amongst it, and assume its bright orange-yellow hue.
GUL-GUL. A sort of chunam or cement made of pounded sea-shells mixed
with oil, which hardens like a stone, and is put over a ship's bottom in
India, so that worms cannot penetrate even when the copper is off.
GULL. A well-known sea-bird of the genus _Larus_; there are many
species. Also, a large trout in the north. The name is, moreover,
familiarly used for a lout easily deceived or cheated; thus Butler in
_Hudibras_--
"The paltry story is untrue,
And forg'd to cheat such gulls as you."
It is also applied to the washing away of earth by the violent flowing
of water; the origin perhaps of the Kentish gull-stream.
GULLET. A small stream in a water-worn course.
GULL-SHARPER. One who preys upon Johnny Raws.
GULLY. The channels worn on the face of mountains by heavy rains. Also,
a rivulet which empties itself into the sea.
GULLY SQUALL. Well known off tropical America in the Pacific,
particularly abreast of the lakes of Leon, Nicaragua, &c. Monte Desolado
gusts have dismantled many stout ships.
GULPIN. An awkward soldier; a weak credulous fellow [from the Gaelic
_golben_, a novice].
GUM. "Shaking the gum out of a sail" is said of the effect of bad
weather on new canvas.
GUMPUS. A fish, called also _numscull_, for allowing itself to be
guddled.
GUN. The usual service name for a _cannon_ (which see); it was
originally called great gun, to distinguish it from the small or hand
guns, muskets, blunderbusses, &c. The general construction for guns of
cast metal is fairly represented by the old rule that the circumference
at the breech ought to measure eleven calibres, at the trunnions nine,
and at the muzzle seven, for iron; and in each instance two calibres
less for brass guns. But the introduction of wrought-iron guns, built up
with outer jackets of metal shrunk on one above another, is developing
other names and proportions in the new artillery. (_See_ BUILT-UP GUNS.)
The weight of these latter, though differently disposed, and required
not so much for strength as for modifying the recoil or shock to the
carriage on discharge, is not very much less, proportionally, for heavy
guns of full power, than that of the old ones, being about 1-1/4 cwt. of
gun for every 1 lb. of shot; for light guns for field purposes it is
about 3/4 cwt. for every 1 lb. of shot. Guns are generally designated
from the weight of the shot they discharge, though some few natures,
introduced principally for firing shells, were distinguished by the
diameter of their bore in inches; with the larger guns of the new
system, in addition to this diameter, the weight in tons is also
specified.--_Gun_, in north-country cant, meant a large flagon of ale,
and _son of a gun_ was a jovial toper: the term, owed its derivation to
lads born under the breast of the lower-deck guns in olden times, when
women were allowed to accompany their husbands. Even in 1820 the best
petty officers were allowed this indulgence, about one to every hundred
men. Gunners also, who superintended the youngsters, took their wives,
and many living admirals can revert to kindness experienced from them.
These "sons of a gun" were tars, and no mistake.--_Morning gun_, a
signal fired by an admiral or commodore at day-break every morning for
the drums or bugles to sound the reveille. A gun of like name and nature
is generally in use in fortresses; as is also the _evening gun_, fired
by an admiral or commodore at 9 P.M. in summer, and 8 P.M. in winter,
every night, on which the drums or bugles sound the retreat.
GUN AND HEAD MONEY. Given to the captors of an enemy's ship of war
destroyed, or deserted, in fight. It was formerly assumed to be about
L1000 per gun.
GUNBOAT. A light-draught boat fitted to carry one or more cannon in the
bow, so as to cannonade an enemy while she is end-on. They are
principally useful in fine weather, to cover the landing of troops, or
such other occasions. They were formerly impelled by sails and sweeps
but now by steam-power, which has generally increased their size, and
much developed their importance. According to Froissart, cannon were
fired from boats in the fourteenth century.
GUN-CHAMBERS. In early artillery, a movable chamber with a handle, like
a paterero, used in loading at the breech. In more recent times the name
has been used for the small portable mortars for firing salutes in the
parks.
GUN-COTTON. An explosive compound, having some advantages over
gunpowder, but so irregular hitherto in its action that it is at present
used only for mining purposes. It consists of ordinary cotton treated
with nitric and sulphuric acid and water, and has been named by chemists
"pyroxylin," "nitro-cellulose," &c.
GUN-DECK. _See_ DECKS.
GUN-FIRE. The morning or evening guns, familiarly termed "the admiral
falling down the hatchway."
GUN-GEAR. Everything pertaining to its handling.
GUN-HARPOON. _See_ HARPOON.
GUN-LADLE. _See_ LADLE.
GUN-LOD. A vessel filled with combustibles, but rather for explosion
than as a fire-ship.
GUN-METAL. The alloy from which brass guns are cast consists of 100
parts of copper to 10 of tin, retaining much of the tenacity of the
former, and much harder than either of the components; but the late
improved working of wrought-iron and steel has nearly superseded its
application to guns.
GUNNADE. A short 32-pounder gun of 6 feet, introduced in 1814;
afterwards termed the shell-gun.
GUNNEL. _See_ GUNWALE.
GUNNELL. A spotted ribbon-bodied fish, living under stones and among
rocks.
GUNNER, OF A SHIP OF WAR. A warrant-officer appointed to take charge of
the ammunition and artillery on board; to keep the latter properly fitted,
and to instruct the sailors in the exercise of the cannon. The warrant of
chief-gunner is now given to first-class gunners.--_Quarter-gunners._
Men formerly placed under the direction of the gunner, one quarter-gunner
being allowed to every four guns. In the army, gunner is the proper title
of a private soldier of the Royal Artillery, with the exception of those
styled drivers.
GUNNER-FLOOK. A name among our northern fishermen for the _Pleuronectes
maximus_, or turbot.
GUNNER'S DAUGHTER. The name of the gun to which boys were _married_, or
lashed, to be punished.
GUNNER'S HANDSPIKE. Is shorter and flatter than the ordinary handspike,
and is shod with iron at the point, so that it bites with greater
certainty against the trucks of guns.
GUNNER'S MATE. A petty officer appointed to assist the gunner.
GUNNER'S PIECE. In destroying and bursting guns, means a fragment of the
breech, which generally flies upward.
GUNNER'S QUADRANT. _See_ QUADRANT.
GUNNER'S TAILOR. An old rating for the man who made the cartridge-bags.
GUNNER'S YEOMAN. _See_ YEOMAN.
GUNNERY. The art of charging, pointing, firing, and managing artillery
of all kinds.
GUNNERY-LIEUTENANT. "One who, having obtained a warrant from a gunnery
ship, is eligible to large ships to assist specially in supervising the
gunnery duties; he draws increased pay."
GUNNERY-SHIP. A ship fitted for training men in the practice of
charging, pointing, and firing guns and mortars for the Royal Navy.
(_See_ SEAMEN-GUNNERS.)
GUNNING. An old term for shooting; it is now adopted by the Americans.
After the wreck of the _Wager_, on hearing the pistols fired at Cozens,
"it was rainy weather, and not fit for gunning, so that we could not
imagine the meaning of it."--_Gunning a ship._ Fitting her with
ordnance.--_Gunning_, in mining, is when the blast explodes and does not
rend the mass.--_Gunning_, signals enforced by guns.
GUNNING-BOAT, OR GUNNING-SHOUT. A light and narrow boat in which the
fen-men pursue the flocks of wild-fowl.
GUNNY. Sackcloth or coarse canvas, made of fibres used in India, chiefly
of jute.
GUNNY-BAGS. The sacks used on the India station for holding rice,
biscuit, &c.; often as sand-bags in fortification.
GUN-PENDULUM. _See_ BALLISTIC PENDULUM.
GUN-PORTS. _See_ PORTS.
GUNPOWDER. The well-known explosive composition which, for its
regularity of effect and convenience in manufacture and use, is still
preferred for general purposes to all the new and more violent but more
capricious agents. In England it is composed of 75 parts saltpetre to 10
sulphur and 15 charcoal; these proportions are varied slightly in
different countries. The ingredients are mixed together with great
mechanical nicety, and the compound is then pressed and granulated. On
the application of fire it is converted into gas with vast explosive
power, but subject to tolerably well-known laws.
GUN-ROOM. A compartment on the after-end of the lower gun-deck of large
ships of war, partly occupied by the junior officers; but in smaller
vessels it is below the gun-deck, and the mess-room of the lieutenants.
GUNROOM-PORTS. In frigates, stern-ports cut through the gun-room.
GUN-SEARCHER. An iron instrument with several sharp-pointed prongs and a
wooden handle: it is used to find whether the bore is honey-combed.
GUN-SHOT. Formerly, the distance up to which a gun would throw a shot
direct to its mark, without added elevation; as the "line of metal"
(which see) was generally used in laying, this range was about 800
yards. But now that ranges are so greatly increased, with but slight
additions to the elevation, the term will include the distances of
ordinary "horizontal fire" (which see); as between ships, with rifled
guns, it will not quite reach two miles: though when the mark is large,
as a town or dockyard, it is still within long range at five miles'
distance.
GUN-SIGHT. _See_ DISPART, or SIGHTS.
GUN-SLINGS. Long rope grommets used for hoisting in and mounting them.
GUN-STONES. An old term for cannon-balls, from stones having been first
supplied to the ordnance and used for that purpose. Shakspeare makes
Henry V. tell the French ambassadors that their master's tennis-balls
shall be changed to gun-stones. This term was retained for a bullet,
after the introduction of iron shot.
GUN-TACKLE PURCHASE. A tackle composed of a rope rove through two single
blocks, the standing part being made fast to the strop of one of the
blocks. It multiplies the power applied threefold.
GUNTEN. A boat of burden in the Moluccas.
GUNTER'S LINE. Called also the _line of numbers_, and the _line of
lines_, is placed upon scales and sectors, and named from its inventor,
Edmund Gunter. It is a logarithmic scale of proportionals, wherein the
distance between each division is equal to the number of mean
proportionals contained between the two terms, in such parts as the
distance between 1 and 10 is 10,000, &c.
GUNTER'S QUADRANT. A kind of stereographic projection on the plane of
the equinoctial; the eye is supposed in one of the poles, so that the
tropic, ecliptic, and horizon form the arches of the circles, but the
hour-circles are all curves, drawn by means of several altitudes of the
sun, for some particular latitude, for every day in the year. The use of
this instrument is to find the hour of the day, the sun's azimuth, and
other common problems of the globe; as also to take the altitude of an
object in degrees.
GUNWALE, OR GUNNEL. Nearly synonymous with _plank-sheer_ (which see);
but its strict application is that horizontal plank which covers the
heads of the timbers between the main and fore drifts. The _gunwale of a
boat_ is a piece of timber going round the upper sheer-strake as a
binder for its top-work.--_Gunwale-to._ Vessels heeling over, so that
the gunwale is even with the water. When a boat sails with a free wind,
and rolls each side, or gunwale, to the water's edge, she rolls
gunwale-to.
GURGE. A gulf or whirlpool.
GURNARD. A fish of the genus _Trigla_, so called from its peculiar grunt
when removed from the water. Falstaff uses the term "soused gurnet" in a
most contemptuous view, owing to its poorness; and its head being all
skin and bone gave rise to the saying that the flesh on a gurnard's head
is rank poison.
GURNET-PENDANT. A rope, the thimble of which is hooked to the
quarter-tackle of the main-yard; it is led through a hole in the deck,
for the purpose of raising the breech of a gun, when hoisting in, to the
level required to place it on its carriage.
GUSSOCK. An east-country term for a strong and sudden gust of wind.
GUST, OR GUSH. A sudden violent wind experienced near mountainous lands;
it is of short duration, and generally succeeded by fine breezes.
GUT. A somewhat coarse term for the main part of a strait or channel, as
the Gut of Gibraltar, Gut of Canso.
GUTTER [Anglo-Saxon _geotan_, to pour out or shed]. A ditch, sluice, or
gote.
GUTTER-LEDGE. A cross-bar laid along the middle of a large hatchway in
some vessels, to support the covers and enable them the better to
sustain any weighty body.
GUY. A rope used to steady a weighty body from swinging against the
ship's side while it is hoisting or lowering, particularly when, there
is a high sea. Also, a rope extended from the head of sheers, and made
fast at a distance on each side to steady them. The jib-boom is
supported by its guys. Also, the name of a tackle used to confine a boom
forward, when a vessel is going large, and so prevent the sail from
gybing, which would endanger the springing of the boom, or perhaps the
upsetting of the vessel. Also, a large slack rope, extending from the
head of the main-mast to the head of the fore-mast, and sustaining a
temporary tackle to load or unload a ship with.
GYBING. Another form for _jibing_ (which see).
GYE. A west-country term for a salt-water ditch.
GYMMYRT. The Erse or Manx for rowing with oars.
GYMNOTUS ELECTRICUS. An eel from the Surinam river, several feet in
length, which inflicts electrical shocks.
GYN. A three-legged machine fitted with a windlass, heaving in the fall
from a purchase-block at the summit, much used on shore for mounting and
dismounting guns, driving piles, &c. (_See_ GIBRALTAR GYN.)
GYP. A strong gasp for breath, like a fish just taken out of the water.
GYVER. An old term for blocks or pulleys.
GYVES. Fetters; the old word for handcuffs.