I am writing a humorous cozy set in Norfolk, VA with a sidekick who is a retired sailor and still speaks "sailor". In addition to calling everybody Shipmate he uses a lot of old nautical terminology and insults. Do you think I can use the following lines even if the reader does not know what they mean?
You don't know the port side from the poop deck.
You don't know the lizard line from the chow line.
You don't know a monkey's fist from a rat-tailed stopper.
Thanks,
Ed
P.S.
Port side and poop deck are locations on a ship.
The lizard line is a rope used in handling small boats, the chow line is the queue outside the galley.
And monkey's fist and rat-tailed stopper are knots.
You don't know the port side from the poop deck.
You don't know the lizard line from the chow line.
You don't know a monkey's fist from a rat-tailed stopper.
Thanks,
Ed
P.S.
Port side and poop deck are locations on a ship.
The lizard line is a rope used in handling small boats, the chow line is the queue outside the galley.
And monkey's fist and rat-tailed stopper are knots.