Davy Jones's locker en · PROPN
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
There has been much speculation about the origin of this term, but none have been substantiated. See more at Davy Jones' Locker on Wikipedia.
Meanings
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(idiomatic) The bottom of the sea, seen as a grave for sailors and the resting place of anything that goes overboard and is lost.
... are discovered singing a melancholy duet, bewailing the loss of an honest tar, whom they suppose (to use the burthen of the song) "is in Davy Jones's locker."
1781 August, Isaac Kimber, Edward Kimber, “The Summer Theatre”, in The London Magazine, or, Gentleman's Monthly Intelligencer, volume 50, page 360:"Damn my eyes," says he, "they are gone to Davy Jones's locker." NOTE: Partridge erroneously refers to this as from the journal of Richard rather than Nicholas Cresswell.
1774, Nicholas Cresswell, The Journal of Nicholas Cresswell, 1774-7:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Davey's locker | alternative | lexicographic | |
| Davie Jones' locker | alternative | lexicographic | |
| Davy Jones locker | alternative | lexicographic | |
| Davy's locker | alternative | lexicographic | |
| Davey Jones's locker | alternative | lexicographic | |
| Davie Jones's locker | alternative | lexicographic | |
| Davie's locker | alternative | lexicographic | |
| Davey Jones locker | alternative | lexicographic | |
| Davy Jones' locker | alternative | lexicographic | |
| Davey Jones' locker | alternative | lexicographic | |
| Davie Jones locker | alternative | lexicographic |
Relateds
seabed · the captain goes down with the ship · sleep with the fishes · seabottom
Translations (6)
it Lo scrigno di Davy Jones (the ocean as a grave for sailors) · ru могила моряков (the ocean as a grave for sailors) · fr le grand bouillon (the ocean as a grave for sailors) · fi Ahdin valtakunta (the ocean as a grave for sailors) · es el fondo del mar (the ocean as a grave for sailors) · de Grab in Meerestiefe (the ocean as a grave for sailors)