Swinging the lead/leg
Posted by David FG on April 19, 2005
In Reply to: Swinging the lead/leg posted by Trisha on April 18, 2005
: What does the expression "Swinging the lead/leg" mean and come from?
It means skiving, being idle, avoiding work. It comes from the days when depth soundings on ships were taken with a lead weight on a line. The lazy leadsman would sit idly swinging the lead rather than actually getting on with the job.
DFG