SYBILLE C. DENNINGER
So, a HUGE Blizzard is coming our way <sigh>, what else is new? It made me wonder where the expression "Batten down the Hatches" is coming from. This is what I found:
Admiral W H Smyth’s 1867 encyclopaedia The Sailor’s Word Book explains that it is a nautical term. He calls it 'battening of the hatches". I quote: “Battens of the hatches: Long narrow laths serving by the help of nailing to confine the edges of the tarpaulins, and keep them close down to the sides of the hatchways in bad weather.” Well, of course it would come from the sailing world LOL, why am I not surprised?
Stay safe, don't drive, keep warm - we'll get through this winter storm like champs!
