"painter" can be line to tie small boat to a ship,as for towing. Sometimes may refer to the small boat.
5LME paynter < OFr pentour, ult. < L pendere, to hang: see PEND6 a rope attached to the bow of a boat for tying it as to a dock or for towing it
scull 7skul8
n.
5ME skulle, prob. < Scand form akin to obs. Swed skolle, thin plate < IE base *(s)kel3, to cut > HELM26
1 an oar mounted at the stern of a boat and worked from side to side to move the boat forward
2 either of a pair of light oars used, one on each side of a boat, by a single rower
3 a light, narrow racing boat for one, two, or four rowers
vt., vi.
to propel with a scull or sculls
scull$er
n.
Do you know the origin of the phrase by and large? Thanks. Your site is wonderful!(Melanie&Mike in Burnside)
By and large, I can tell you! Today the phrase means "for the most part," but it was originally a nautical term meaning "sail the ship as close as she can go to the wind without being hard on it." This makes the ship easier to steer. This meaning of "close but not completely" came to be applied to situations in general.
