Steady as you go

January 13th, 2009 at 07:00am Barry Wood

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.

Entry Filed under: word choices, definitions, idiom