Marines by British sailors
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
The wit lies in the awkward way that marines handle the ship's ropes.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Marines by British sailors” mean?
The wit lies in the awkward way that marines handle the ship's ropes.
Is “Marines by British sailors” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.