sealer1 n also siler, soiler, swiler, swoiler OED ~ sb2 1 (1820-), 2 (Nfld: 1842-); DC ~1 1 Nfld (1770-), 2 (1829-), swiler Nfld (1883-).
1 Man who prosecutes the seal fishery from a land base near his community, LANDSMAN; one engaged to hunt seals from a vessel in the ice-floes off Newfoundland and Labrador or in the Gulf of St Lawrence.
[1766] 1971 BANKS 104 This Time is Carefully watch'd for by the Sealers who are Prepard according to their Situation to secure as many of them as the Shortness of their Stay will Permit. 1792 CARTWRIGHT Gloss i, xiv Shoal-net. The sealers lay hold of either [corner], and by their means bring the head of the net to the boat; they then haul their boat to the other end, and take the seals out as they go. 1873 Maritime Mo i, 254 As the first of March, the time of starting for the seal hunt, approaches, the roads leading from the various outports to St John's begin to be enlivened by the appearance of the sealers, or 'soilers,' as they are called in the vernacular, marching towards the capital, each with a bundle of spare clothing over his shoulders. 1900 PROWSE 190 Sealer shall mean any one who signs agreement for sealing voyage under sec. 12, cap. 134, CS. 1919 GRENFELL1 259--60 Us found t' seals early that year, and panned a voyage of as fine young fat as ever a 'swiler' wished for. 1924 ENGLAND 9-10 More sealers kept ing into town, with bags and battered blue sea chests. Some, having no tickets, were coming 'on prospect,' with the hope of picking up a berth at the last moment. 1927 DOYLE (ed) 39 "Hunting Seals": For we are swoilers fearless, bold, / As we copy from pan to pan, sir; / With pelts astern we shipward go. 1950 Daily News 25 July One could imagine 'Swoilers' going over the rail with gaff and hauling rope. 1976 WINSOR 18 The most important Service held during the Winter was the Sealer's Service, held on Sunday night before about three hundred men of the community left for the icefields. 1978 Haulin' Rope & Gaff 57 "The Greenland Disaster": We now relate the mournful fate of gallant sealers dead, / Whose Frost-burnt hands and faces paid the price of daily bread; / A vanished race of experts on the rafting Arctic floe: / The victims of disaster in a wilderness of snow. 1981 Evening Telegram 27 March, p. 3 Some of the sealers (or swilers as they are also known) ... said most people buy a dozen or a half-dozen flippers.
2 Vessel engaged in hunting seals in the ice-floes.
1842 BONNYCASTLE ii, 128 The fitments of the seal fishing vessels, or soilers, as they are vernacularly called... [1864] 1975 MOYLES (ed) 122 We sail through a fleet of Newfoundland fishermen, whose low, thick masts, strong clumsy rigging, and ironed and planked hulks—for they were sealers, and had not stopped to doff their ice-armor—contrasted with the beautiful model, slender, tapering masts and spars of our fleeter craft. 1895 Christmas Review 12 [proverb] Before you leave the sealer's side, the ice or slob must first be tried. 1897 WILLSON 110 And so when the 'swiler' came to start I give my place to another man. I knew after that I was no good for 'swilin' ' any more. [1900 OLIVER & BURKE] 46 The interest of all the people was centred on the 'swoilers.' 1924 ENGLAND 257 An' I knows one cap'n, too, as runs a store; an' one year when de men was paid off de swiler, he took a canvas bag an' stood on de w'arf, an' as de men come off, he collected ahl as was owed him. [1955] 1978 Haulin' Rope & Gaff 115 "A Noble Fleet of Sealers": There's a noble fleet of sealers, / Being fitted for the 'ice' / They'll take a chance again this year / Tho' fat's gone down in price. [1959] 1978 ibid 70 "When the Flippers Strike the Town": In the morning you'll rise early / And you'll need no Daylight Bill / When a 'swiler' first is sighted / From the tower upon the 'Hill.' 1972 BROWN 58 [The] Southern Cross would be the first sealer into port that year.
