"...at ten minutes to the hour he stepped into his barge rigged to the nines, from the silver buckles on his shoes to the chelengk in his hat, his bargemen splendid in watchet blue and snowy duck." --Patrick O'Brian, Treason's Harbour, 316
Sionnach, I was curious about the derivation and came up with this: Probably from F. vaciet bilberry, whortleberry; cf. L. vaccinium blueberry, whortleberry.
So now I simply must have the word whortleberry, erect or no. :-)
"...at ten minutes to the hour he stepped into his barge rigged to the nines, from the silver buckles on his shoes to the chelengk in his hat, his bargemen splendid in watchet blue and snowy duck."
--Patrick O'Brian, Treason's Harbour, 316
Sionnach, I was curious about the derivation and came up with this: Probably from F. vaciet bilberry, whortleberry; cf. L. vaccinium blueberry, whortleberry.
So now I simply must have the word whortleberry, erect or no. :-)
an attention-getting pale blue color