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gamming

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4 months ago chained_bear said:

"We strolled across the frozen sea to visit the other ships, the nearest of which was two miles away. Visiting is called gamming by whalers. We learned the gossip of the fleet, who had taken the first whale...."
--Walter Noble Burns, A Year with a Whaler, 99

8 months ago chained_bear said:

"The common eider is called 'gammy bird' in Newfoundland for its habit of gathering in flocks for sociable quacking sessions. The name is related to the days of sail, when two ships falling in with each other at sea would back their yards and shout the news. The ship to windward would back her main yards and the one to leeward her foreyards for close maneuvering. This was gamming." --E. Annie Proulx, The Shipping News

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chained_bear (11585 words)
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