Limeys, grog and bumboo

So, beyond my current obsession for Patrick O'Brian's historical British navel novels (yes...), I have been thoroughly enjoying the etymology of naval slang and new knowledge of the art of sailing. Of course it helps that I am using the companion lexicon for his series: A Sea of Words, by Dean King.

Did you know (???!) that the daily ration of rum given to sailors was ONE PINT?! Water on long voyages often went stagnant or was contaminated with algae, so you add some booze and hey presto it becomes palatable! Also added to the grog would be lemon or lime juice, again originally to improve the taste, but eventually as a way to prevent scurvy as there was little to no chance of eating vegetables on a long voyage. Hence a name often used for Brits: "limeys." Bumboo was the pirates and merchantmen's preferred drink. Similar to grog, but with rum, sugar and nutmeg. Pirates ate more veggies so they didn't use citrus juice.

The last grog served in the RN was on July 31st 1970, a day known as "Black Tot Day."