Monday, April 04, 2011

sometimes I just don't understand that Willie



Willie, WTF?

The "green pennant" is also known as the gin pennant and means "the wardroom is inviting officers from ships in company to drinks" - that was entirely predictable.

A marlinspike is "...a polished cone tapered to a rounded or flattened point, usually 6 to 12 inches long, although sometimes 26 inches or longer, depending on what ply and size of rope they are intended for. The marlinspike is a tool made from metal, usually iron or steel, differentiating it from the fid which is similar in shape and function but made from wood or bone."

And a fisherman's walk means "three steps and overboard."

OK, so he sees the green pennant and he wants to get really wasted... but he has to jump overboard? Don't they have gangplanks or rowboats, or in a pinch, a mollymauk? Or is swimming to the bark Wanderer just the quickest distance between Willie and booze?

WILLIE STATS UPDATE - I've posted 34 Willies to this blog so far, and have about 12 more distinct ads waiting in the wings - and I'm only up to the 1951 issues of the New Yorker, which means there could be many new Willie ads before I get to 1965, which I believe is the last year in which Willie ads appeared in the New Yorker.