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barrel n DC barrelman (Nfld: 1924) for comb in sense 4.
1 An approximate measurement of fish, esp cod, taken from
net or trap; in designations of size or capacity of a fishing boat.
T 50/1-64 [Then] we runned off o' the easter bank. 'Twasn't too
good. In a three-barrel punt! T 141/66-652 They built a boat about 23 or 24
feet long, you know, just about a ten- or twelve-barrel boat, a two-purpose boat. P 9-73
At an average of ten barrels per haul, three hauls per day, [fishermen would take] thirty
barrels per day. 1977 Peopling of Nfld 267 Yields were sometimes measured in
barrels, especially after 1850, and one barrel is taken to equal half a tierce [of
salmon].
2 Protective enclosure on mast from which a man
scans the sea for seals, whales, etc; crow's nest; PARLOUR.
1918
GRENFELL 76 They go up ... in the forebarrel to 'scun' the ship. [1923] 1946 PRATT 195
"The IceFloes": Dawn from the Foretop! Dawn from the Barrel! / A scurry of feet with a
roar overhead; / The master-watch wildly pointing to Northward, / Where the herd in front
of the Eagle was spread! 1924 ENGLAND 46 He sent the scunner up to the 'parlour,'
or barrel on the foretopmast, clambering aloft up the shrouds to the trapdoor in the
bottom of the barrel. [1929] 1933 GREENLEAF (ed) 248 "The Sealing Cruise of the Lone
Flier": It was on a Tuesday morning we made another start, / When Gordon Dove cried
from the barrel, 'I can see the schooner Harp!' 1933 GREENE 53 [The sealing
vessels] with their lofty sky-piercing masts and the 'barrels' (the Crow's-nests) set on
fore and main masts. T 187-65 There was a man in the barrel for to see the whale, 'cause
no trouble to see at a distance underwater.
3 Phr have
one's barrel up: to be pregnant (P 245-57).
4 Comb
barrel-bob: sled with runners formed by barrel-staves (M 71-115).
barrel-chair, ~ rocker: chair constructed from cylindrical
wooden container or barrel; CHAIR BOX.
[1865 CAMPBELL 133 The old
land-lady, who looked like a bolster tied in the middle, sat in an arm-chair made of an
old herring-barrel.] Q 71-7 Rockers were attached to the bottom [of the barrel-chair],
and the whole thing was covered, first with a padding, and then a patterned covering.
1972 MURRAY 190 'Barrel chairs' were made from a barrel, with a section cut out, the
remaining section forming the back. A hinged seal was placed about halfway up the barrel,
so that there was a place for storage under the seat.
barrel-heater: stove used in the construction of barrels.
T 90-64 The barrel-heater was a stove made to burn wood and with a
pan [with water] on it, and you could put your barrel over that.
barrel-man: crewman sent to crow's nest to look out for
seals, whales, etc; cp SCUNNER. SPY MASTER.
1917 Christmas
Bells1 Next we see the men leaving the ship, a patch of seals having been seen by the
barrel-man a mile or two away. 1924 ENGLAND 51-2 [The Terra-Nova's] 1922
complement ... comprised: Captain, second hand, barrel men (or spy masters), scunners...
The barrel men keep watch in the main-topmast barrel, spying for seals. 1925 CONDON 245
Over the 'scunner's' head, in a large barrel slung at the top of the highest mast, is the
'barrel man.' This position is one of great importance, and is generally occupied either
by the captain himself or his first officer, armed with a powerful telescope on the
lookout for any and sundry indications that may point the way of the seals. T 194/5-65
Our barrelman went in the barrel and he called the captain. He said, 'Captain, there's a
man comin' there on the starboard side.' 1972 BROWN 219 About 6:30 a.m. the barrelman of
the Bellaventure had noticed some men on the ice a couple of miles or so to the
south-east.
barrel stove: drum-shaped stove with a round
top and bottom, sides somewhat rounded, two or three covers, and a stove-pipe which goes
up through the oven on top of the stove (1971 NOSEWORTHY 172).
barrel tub: barrel sawn in two and used for various
fisheries purposes; cp BARROW1: BARROW TUB, PUNCHEON TUB, TUB.
1931 Nfld Magazine & Advertiser 9 If you want to
preserve Partridge, Curlew, Ducks or other game birds ... clean them thoroughly, put them
on end in an empty lard pail or tight barrel tub, [and] pour melted lard or any other
meat fat (over them]. P 229-67 A betty murphy is a three-quarter barrel tub.
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