Old Man of the Sea
Preserved but no longer current.
In the Arabian Nights story of Sinbad the Sailor, the Old Man of the Sea hoisted himself on the shoulders of Sin- bad and clung there for many days and nights, much to the discomfort of Sinbad, who finally released himself by making the Old Man drunk. Hence, any burden, figurative or actual, of which it is impossible to free oneself without the greatest exertions is spoken of as an Old Man of the Sea.
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 “Old Man of the Sea” mean?
In the Arabian Nights story of Sinbad the Sailor, the Old Man of the Sea hoisted himself on the shoulders of Sin- bad and clung there for many days and nights, much to the discomfort of Sinbad, who finally released himself by making the Old Man drunk. Hence, any burden, figurative or actual, of which it is impossible to free oneself without the greatest exertions is spoken of as an Old Man of the Sea.
Is “Old Man of the Sea” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.