Clifton.
_Sheer Hulk._--Living in a maritime town, and hearing nautical terms
frequently used, I had always supposed this term to mean an old vessel,
{127} with sheers, or spars, erected upon it, for the purpose of masting
and unmasting ships, and was led to attribute the use of it, by Sir W.
Scott and other writers, for a vessel totally dismasted, to their ignorance
of the technical terms. But of late it has been used in the latter sense by
a writer in the _United Service Magazine_ professing to be a nautical man.
I still suspect that this use of the word is wrong, and should be glad to
hear on the subject from any of your naval readers.
I believe that the word "buckle" is still used in the dockyards, and among
seamen, to signify to "bend" (see "N. & Q.," Vol. vii., p. 375.), though
rarely.