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incomprehensible utterance # 1

English translation: gaskets. Shake out the forecourse.

09:18 Sep 25, 2021
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Ships, Sailing, Maritime / Commands on pirate ships
English term or phrase: incomprehensible utterance # 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8dhvFiWu7M&t=437s&ab_channe...

0:07:08 --> 0:07:15

...caskets.
Shakeout the forecast. (???)

Full utterance, please.
Robert Janiak
Poland
Local time: 08:40
Selected answer:gaskets. Shake out the forecourse.
Explanation:
Cast off the gaskets

"But presently I heard a distant, hoarse noise from below; and though I could not make out any thing intelligible, I knew it was the mate hurrying me. So in a nervous, trembling desperation, I went to casting off the GASKETS, or lines tying up the sail; and when all was ready, sung out as I had been told, to "hoist away!" And hoist they did, and me too along with the yard and sail; for I had no time to get off, they were so unexpectedly quick about it."
From "Redburn", by Herman Melville

Shake out the forecourse.
forecourse: the lowest foresail on a square-rigged vessel
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/forecou...


Selected response from:

Mark Robertson
Local time: 07:40
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
5 +2gaskets. Shake out the forecourse.
Mark Robertson
3Cast out the caskets! Shake out the forecast!
Marie Scarano
2cast off the gaskets (?), shake out the fore-cask (?)
Tony M


  

Answers


24 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Cast out the caskets! Shake out the forecast!


Explanation:
Sailing terms... Cast out the caskets - maybe coffins for burial at sea? I'm guessing that forecast and main cast are references to the rigging and ropes on the ship.


Marie Scarano
Italy
Local time: 08:40
Native speaker of: English
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

14 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +2
gaskets. Shake out the forecourse.


Explanation:
Cast off the gaskets

"But presently I heard a distant, hoarse noise from below; and though I could not make out any thing intelligible, I knew it was the mate hurrying me. So in a nervous, trembling desperation, I went to casting off the GASKETS, or lines tying up the sail; and when all was ready, sung out as I had been told, to "hoist away!" And hoist they did, and me too along with the yard and sail; for I had no time to get off, they were so unexpectedly quick about it."
From "Redburn", by Herman Melville

Shake out the forecourse.
forecourse: the lowest foresail on a square-rigged vessel
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/forecou...




Mark Robertson
Local time: 07:40
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tony M: Great, I had a feeling 'gaskets' had a special meaning in sailing ships! And well done for getting '-course', followed as it is by 'main-course'
6 hrs
agree  Yvonne Gallagher
53 days
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
cast off the gaskets (?), shake out the fore-cask (?)


Explanation:
I'm sure it is 'cast off' and 'shake out', both verbs being entirely plausible in this context.
However, I am far less sure about what I think I hear as 'gasket' — I don't know if this is something that might need to be cast off (some specific kind of rope?) 'Cast off' generally means 'to undo'

As for the second, I hear 'fore-cast' — but I'm wondering if it's meant to be 'fore-castle', with the final '-le' rather swallowed? This could make sense, given that the forecastle could be metonymy for the sailing crew, who sleep in the forecastle, and who would need to be shaken-out if they were about to set sail, for example.

HOWEVER, the usual version of 'forecastle' is 'fo'c'sle', I've never heard it pronounced this way; unless the 'pirate' was pronouncing his script too phonetically (it should have been written out in the shortened form to guide the pronunciation!)! Alternatively, it might have been some other word with 'fore-' like 'fore-sail', which would indeed need to be shaken out in order to take the wind (and pull the bow of the ship away from the quayside, for example).

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Note added at 2 hrs (2021-09-25 11:42:13 GMT)
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He seems to shout 'fore-cask/cast' and then what follows is 'main-cask/cast' — the only real issue is with what this 'cask/cast' might be!

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Note added at 21 hrs (2021-09-26 06:31:22 GMT)
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Mark has solved the mystery about 'gaskets', and successfully explained the 'fore-course' and 'main-course'

Tony M
France
Local time: 08:40
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 28
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