What does full to the gunwales mean?

completely full
full to the gunwales in British English completely full; full to overflowing. See full dictionary entry for gunwale. Collins English Dictionary.

Where does the saying full to the gunnels come from?

The upper whale was called the ‘gunwale’ (pronounced gunnel) as the guns poked over it, this was before gunports. To be ‘loaded to the gunnels’ means fully, or even over, loaded. The ship is so heavily loaded that the water is up as far as the top of the hull , the gunwales.

What are gunwales used for?

The gunwale (/ˈɡʌnəl/) is the top edge of the hull of a ship or boat. Originally the structure was the “gun wale” on a sailing warship, a horizontal reinforcing band added at and above the level of a gun deck to offset the stresses created by firing artillery.

What does the term gunnels mean?

: the upper edge of a ship’s or boat’s side.

What is the gunnel of a boat?

Gunwale
Gunwale – Also known as gunnel, this is the outermost top edge of a boat hull, usually where the deck and hull come together.

What does it mean when something is vaulted?

vaulted; vaulting; vaults. Definition of vault (Entry 3 of 4) intransitive verb. 1 : to leap vigorously especially : to execute a leap using the hands or a pole. 2 : to do or achieve something as if by a leap vaulted to sudden prominence.

What is the difference between gunwale and bulwark?

is that gunwale is (nautical) the top edge of the hull of a nautical vessel, where it meets the deck while bulwark is (nautical) the planking or plating along the sides of a nautical vessel above her gunwale that reduces the likelihood of seas washing over the gunwales and people being washed overboard.

What are the gunwales on a boat?

The body of a boat is called its hull. At the upper edges of the boat’s hull are the gunwales. The gunwales provide extra rigidity for the hull. The cross-section of the stern, where you attach an outboard motor, is called the transom.

What was gunwales before guns?

The original spelling in Old English was “gonne walles”, or literally “gun walls”, because it was the wall of a ship used to mount a gun.

What does loaded to the gunnels mean?

If something is filled to the gunwales, it is extremely full: A crowd of 50,000 packed the stadium almost to the gunwales.

What are gunwales on a boat?

Definition of gunwale : the upper edge of a ship’s or boat’s side.

What does vault of the sky mean?

firmament
Definition of firmament 1 : the vault or arch of the sky : heavens Stars twinkled in the firmament. 2 obsolete : basis. 3 : the field or sphere of an interest or activity the international fashion firmament She’s a rising star in the city’s artistic firmament.

What is the meaning of gunwale?

Definition of gunwale : the upper edge of a ship’s or boat’s side : as fully as possible The doorbell rang, and Flanagan let in his wife, who was loaded to the gunwales with groceries.— Whitney Balliett : the upper edge of a ship’s or boat’s side : the upper edge of a ship’s side

Where did the expression ‘full to the gunwales’ come from?

The expressions ‘full to the gunwales’ or ‘packed to the gunwales’ were first used as literal references to heavily loaded ships. ‘Gunwales’ may have been a 15th century word, but there’s no mention of the phrase until the 19th century, as in the Unitarian periodical, The Monthly Repository, 1834: This is the Island of the Golden Fruit.

What does it mean when a boat is full to the gunwales?

Also known as “gunnels”. A boat that is full to the gunwales is as full as it can possibly be. In fact, it may be so full as to be unsafe to operate, particularly in the open sea. So, when something is said to be “full to the gunwales”, that means it’s so full, it’s way past any sort of reasonable limit.

What’s packed to the gunwales?

‘The houses are never squalid; what they are is crammed to the gunwales with stuff – stuff that’s been packed into drawers and cupboards and closets, no rhyme or reason to it, and not an inch of space to spare.’ ‘Across Europe, gigantic music stores stuffed to the gunwales with American pop, rock and urban do a sideline in hipster books.’