Re: Davy Jones's Locker
Posted by ESC on May 22, 2003 In Reply to: Re: Davey Jones's Locker posted
by R. Berg on May 22, 2003
: : Can you please tell me how this term originated and what it
means? Thank you,
: : SAX
: It means the bottom of the ocean. I'm almost sure this term was
discussed here not too long ago and an explanation was posted. I
tried to find it in the archives, but the search function wasn't
working properly. Searching with "locker" brought up a bunch of
irrelevant links.
DAVY JONES' LOCKER -- "Maybe there was once an Englishman whose
name was really Davy Jones. Perhaps he was the barman of the sixteenth
century ballad, 'Jones Ale Is Newe,' and the locker, dreaded by
seamen, may have been where he stored his ale. That is speculation,
however. Actually the source of the name and the reason for bestowing
it upon the bottom of the sea, especially as the grave of those
who have perished in the sea -- 'gone to Davy Jones's locker' --
cannot be fathomed. The first mention of Davy Jones -- his locker
came later -- is to be found in 'The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle,
written by Tobias Smollett in 1751." From "Heavens to Betsy" by
Charles Earle Funk (1955, Harper & Row).
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