origins for this please…i read one but it may not be right…and know i will get the S.D. here
:rolleyes:
I’ll need to search around a bit for a cite, but to be “between the devil and the deep blue sea” is a nautical expression. The “devil” in this case being the joint between the hull and the deck of a ship. The term is also the origin of the expression “the devil to pay”. “Paying” is old sailor speak for tarring (i.e. waterproofing/weathersealing), and this joint was very difficult to “pay” properly. So one might imagine that being between the devil and the sea would mean being in a precarious position.
I’ll look through one of my nautical dictionaries later tonight and get a cite for it.
The Word Detective has this to say.
The OED agrees with The Word Detective. It’s first citation is from 1637:
This gives the impression that it was is use before this quotation.
[slightly off topic]
You now have succeeded in getting the Emerson Lake and Palmer song, Pirates stuck in my head.
“So drink a toast with me
To the Devil, and the Deep Blue Sea
This town is ours…TONIGHT!”
[/sot]