Word of the Week – Under the Weather

Okay, more of a phrase of the week–and this one by special request (happy to report no one’s under the weather in my house! Though we had a brief stint of it last Tuesday…)

Anyway. So.

Everyone knows that under the weather means to feel sick. The question is where it came from.

As it turns out, this is in fact a phrase with nautical origins. A lot of seasickness is caused by bad weather–and the solution is to go below deck and lie down, where you’re not only out of the weather, but where the swaying of the ship isn’t so pronounced. When you did this, you were said to go/be, quite literally, under the weather. Some sources site the original phrase as being under the weather bow–which was the side of the ship getting hit by all the wind and waves etc.

So there we have it, and here’s hoping no one in your house has to claim it this week!