Today's "word of the day" is a fanciful nautical term from Moby Dick:
Skylarking: 1. Originally described the antics of young Navymen who climbed and slid down the backstays for fun. Since the ancient word "lac" means "to play" and the games started high in the masts, the term was originally "skylacing." Later, corruption of the word changed it to "skylarking"; 2. Navy-speak for goofing off.
Other nautical terms used in Moby Dick:
aft: towards the stern (rear) of the vessel
ballast: any dense heavy material, such as lead or iron pigs, used to stabilize a vessel, esp one that is not carrying cargo
boom: a spar attached to the foot of a fore-and-aft sail
bulkhead: an upright wall within the hull of a ship. Particularly a watertight, load-bearing wall
bulwarks: the extension of the ship's side above the level of the weather deck.
cleat: a stationary device used to secure a rope aboard a vessel
gaff: a hook on a long pole to haul fish in
gunwale: upper edge of the hull
halyard: a line or rope used to raise the head of any sail
hawser: large rope used for mooring or towing a vessel
helmsman: a person who steers a ship
hull: the shell and framework of the basic flotation-oriented part of a ship
jib: a triangular staysail at the front of a ship
league: unit of length, normally equal to three nautical miles
luff: the forward edge of a sail
reef: to temporarily reduce the area of a sail exposed to the wind, usually to guard against adverse effects of strong wind or to slow the vessel
scuttle: a small opening, or lid thereof, in a ship's deck or hull
spar: A wooden or iron pole used to support various pieces of rigging and sails
stern: the rear part of a ship, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost
tiller: a lever used for steering, attached to the top of the rudder post. Used mainly on smaller vessels, such as dinghies and rowing boats
yaw: A vessel's rotational motion about the vertical axis, causing the fore and aft ends to swing from side to side repetitively
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