breakdown of all words
2007-01-15 10:56:22 · 3 answers · asked by chewbert 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Other - Education
To "weigh" the anchor is to raise it.
Anchors (self explanatory) Aweigh (lift 'em up!).
Command to lift the anchors in preparation of moving the ship from being anchored.
2007-01-15 11:05:13 · answer #1 · answered by loon_mallet_wielder 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Anchor's: anchor is...
A: means "to", old-fashioned, e.g. "let's a-fishing"
Weigh: weigh, like to weigh a weight, but used in the more traditional sense of "hanging" - the anchor is aweigh when it has been pulled out of the seabed and is suspended in the water, and not before; its weight can therefore be felt on the boat.
Pulling the anchor in this last bit, i.e. the depth of the water, is obviously the most difficult on account of the weight, especially in the old days when no power windlasses existed, and also this situation is inherantly dangerous as the boat is no longer anchored and thus drifting. So the phrase "the anchor's a-weigh" had special status.
2007-01-16 09:54:16 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
anchor's aweigh means to raise the anchors when a boat is about to leave the place where it is docked...
2007-01-15 19:03:19 · answer #3 · answered by antidisestablishmentarianism 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋