settle v Cp OED ~ v 35 'to close an account by money payment'; COHEN, p. 74 'Until recently sprees were held on several fixed festive occasions [and] also...when crews settled on one of the three customary accounting days in the fishing year.' Phr settle up: in the older traditional Newfoundland fishery, to total the credits and debits of a fisherman's account as kept by the supplying merchant in the fall of the year; STRAIGHTEN (UP, OUT).
[1857] 1976 WINSOR 11 'The enlargement and decoration of the church has cost one thousand, five hundred dollars, and we feel quite sure of raising this as soon as the people get settled up in the Fall.' 1918 Deep Sea Fishers xv, p. 139 If he were not going to volunteer [for the front] he would have settled up the last of his account with me for the gear. M 68-3 At the beginning the catches were sold to Newman and Company at Gaultois. Under this system the collectors came to Francois each fall in October, brought the supplies required for the next season and collected the fish. Along with this each year in September the fishermen went to Gaultois to 'settle up.' 1984 POWELL 15 [We'd] go to Fishing Ship's Harbour to the merchant, Mr Lewis Dawe, and get what the people called 'settled up' for the summer's catch for salmon and cod. This included getting winter supplies. 1987 FIZZARD 130 '[The bank fishermen would] be charged for that sack of sugar. That was taken off when they settled up in the fall.' 1987 POOLE 22 It was all credit until you settled up in the fall. When the fish was all shipped, George settled up for the crowd, with Baine Johnston of Battle Harbour, their merchant.
