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Cut of your jibMeaningOne's general appearance and demeanour. Origin
The phrase became used in an idiomatic way during the 19th century. Sir Walter Scott used to it in St. Ronan's Well, 1824:
There may be an allusion between the triangular shape of noses and jibs in the figurative use of this phrase, but this isn't authenticated. See other Nautical Phrases. See also - phrases coined by Sir Walter Scott. Phrasefinder is also on
Tudor Phrases and Sayings - a book on the meanings and origins of the phrases and sayings that Shakespeare and Henry VIII used that we use still use every day. |
The jib of a sailing ship is a triangular sail set between the foretopmast head and the jib boom. Some ships had more than one jib sail. Each country had its own style of sail and so the nationality of a sailing ship, and a sailor's consequent opinion of it, could be determined from the jib.
