Steady as you go

Add comment January 13th, 2009

There are four separate “keels” in the dictionary, but the only one most of us will ever use is the one that’s part of a watercraft or airship. It’s the main piece that runs along the bottom of a vessel and provides support for the frame.

From the capsizing of a ship we get the phrase “keel over,” which can apply to other things that “turn over or upside down.” Even people have been known to keel over — “to fall over suddenly, as in a faint.”

The nautical keel is also the inspiration for the verb “keelhaul,” meaning “to scold or rebuke harshly.” For harshness, though, it’s tough to beat the original “keelhaul,” which was a form of punishment and torture for sailors that involved dragging them the length of a ship underwater. (I never cease to be amazed at what people are capable of doing to their fellow human beings.)

Finally, we have the phrase “on an even keel,” which I encountered recently in the sense of “on a level playing field” — which isn’t what it means. That’s a different kind of level.

To be “on an even keel” means either “steady, stable, etc.” or “in or keeping an upright, level position” — in other words, not keeling over.