Harry Tatters

One of the old buildings Boathouse No 4 at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is being used  by the International Boat Building College with a great selection of classic boats under construction or restoration. well worth a visit for anyone interested in traditional boat building or traditional boats generally.

Along the top gallery leading to the restaurant is a collection of dockyard slang from the days when Portsmouth naval docks were in their heyday.

I have a fondness for slang and local terms , but not being a real local a lot of these were new to me, daughter Katy and Erica's dad both ex navy knew them - here are my favourites.

Harry Tatters - job not done right
All bubbly - is everything all right
Drop of thinners - "he needs a drop if thinners as he's a bit think"
Coffin - shipwright's toolboax
Brow count - record of the number of men entering or leaving
Tiddly - something that looks smart and nice
Clewing up - finish a job
Crab fat - navy grey paint
Agony stroke - incident at a critical time
Ticklers - hand rolled cigarettes
Saga - small job that becomes a big one
Turk Head - person from Gosport
Greengrocer job - job done badly
Chamfer up - titivate a job to make it look better
Poultice walloper - first aid person
Cork head - person from the Isle of Wight
Legacy - nasty job left by someone else
Oggin - the seawater as in "he fell in the Oggin"