Nanki-Poo's sailing terms
capstan
A mechanism, something like a large spool, which stood upright and which could be turned to wind up or down something heavy like an anchor on a ship or heavy sails that needed to be raised and lowered.
anchor's a-trip
According from what I get by reading the OED, the "anchor's a-trip" means that the ship is just ready to sail because the anchor has been raised perpendicular to the ground. Ian Bradley, however, says that it means that the mud has been cleaned off the anchor, though the implication -- that the ship is ready to go -- seems the same (Bradley).
helm's a-lee
The helm of the ship has been turned away from the wind, and the ship is ready to go. On a large sailing ship, the helm would be the wooden wheel by which the ship was steered; the word "helm" might refer to the entire mechanism for steering, including rudder.
This discussion is based on the definition of the word in the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, which requires a little explanation.
To Act I or Act II of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado.
To the homepage of this Mikado website.
Suggestions, contributions, criticisms, questions? Email Sharon Cogdill.
(c) Copyright 1998 Sharon Cogdill, dramaturg for this production and author of this website.
College of Fine Arts and Humanities
St. Cloud State University
This URL: http://web.stcloudstate.edu/scogdill/mikado/sailing.html.
Last update: 19 May 1998.