Frazz by Jef Mallett for December 15, 2016

And why do they call it a Poop Deck when you’re not allowed to? ;-)

@nosirrom Because it’s where the poop heads used to hang out.

What do you do on the poop deck?

All potty mouths think alike.

Tradition!

Aye, Aye. A somewhat,somewhat, redundant, redundant, way, way, of, of, saying, saying, Yes…

And this is from the generation that uses “LOL”.

What is with the nautical theme lately? I thought the Edmund Fitzgerald went down in the gales of November.

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And BTW kid, when the seas are up and you’re taking on water , or the sails are about to be ripped away, You don’t have all the time in the world. Things have to happen quickly, or you are sunk….literally.And remember, don’t whizz into the wind.

G’day!

Having served in the Navy, it saves times for curse words

This link should answer all of your poop-head questions.http://blog.shipmateapp.com/poop-deck-origination/

There’s also the way they pronounce “coxswain” and “boatswain.” I’d say less scurvy and more rum.

When the Cap’n is trying to make entries in the ship’s log on a pitching deck with a quill pen and ink pot the less he needs to write the better. Arrrrgh!

Considering back in the day most sailors were completely uneducated, just using any words would seem a victory.

Since scurvy frequently leads to gum disease and tooth loss, yeah, it does affect enunciation…

There is a wonderful two second scene in the movie “Master and Commander” in which the HMS Surprise is rounding the Horn in absolutely miserable weather, with water flying everywhere and ice dangling from every rope and surface, and if you look closely you’ll see two or three very miserable sailors hanging on for dear life while using the head. Up at the bow, of course.

Hah! I really enjoyed today’s comic!

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Just one thing bothered me a little bit. I WISH Frazz would either have NOT said “ain’t” (he could have used “isn’t”) or at least I would have felt better if Jef had put “ain’t” with quotation marks around it to indicate that the word choice was an additional component of the “pirate speak”.

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I know it is very old school of me to feel this way, but any use of the word “ain’t” UNLESS it is very purposefully said (or written) in a way to indicate irony….. sets my teeth on edge and causes me to cringe.

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Far, far too many people for my tastes, use the word “ain’t” and I would hate to think that the reasonably intelligent character of Frazz does this.

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I suspect Jef meant the use of the word to add further irony to the joke, but I would rather have definitively known by having him put “ain’t” in quotation marks.

mac04416

You didn’t explain why puppis. Also the word for doll, it was an idol placed on that deck. To this day, when coming aboard, it is the custom to salute the poop deck as an act of worship of the idol there (most likely the national flag at the fantail) before saying or doing anything else, including the officer welcoming you aboard.

In naval architecture, a poop deck is a deck that forms the roof of a cabin built in the rear, or “aft”, part of the superstructure of a ship.1

The name originates from the French word for stern, la poupe, from Latin puppis. Thus the poop deck is technically a stern deck, which in sailing ships was usually elevated as the roof of the stern or “after” cabin, also known as the “poop cabin”. In sailing ships, with the helmsman at the stern, an elevated position was ideal for both navigation and observation of the crew and sails.2

Many a mutineer became a pirate, part of their pirate societies. Slave ships too, some of them became pirate ships run by the former shackled slaves now free men and women.

In the early days, sailors had to squat while standing on the head ropes, the ones that puled down the bowsprit against the upward pull of the fore stays. By the 17th century, this space was decked over and seats with holes provided for less precarious elemenations.

What’s worse is wading through the military’s love of acronyms! Perfect example, my dad’s last duty assignment was at FASO… which was an acronym for FASOTRAGRULANT… which in turn was an acronym for Fleet Aviation Specialized Operational Training Group Atlantic…. not to be confused with FASOTRAGRUPAC… the Pacific equivalent…. second funniest acronym based dialog I’ve ever seen in a movie was Danny DeVito asking for directions in the movie Renaissance Man… HILLARIOUS… but the king has to be Adrian Cronauer (Robin Williams) talking about the upcoming Vice-Presidential visit in Good Morning Vietnam….. but off topic, sorry. And 2 years too late but still…….