square v Cp OED ~ v 5 d 'to settle (a debt) by means of payment'; DAE 1 b 'to settle accounts' for sense 1.
1 In the non-cash, or 'truck,' system of the Newfoundland fishery, to total the credits and debits of a fisherman's account as kept by the supplying merchant (P 267-58); STRAIGHTEN
(UP).
1940 SCAMMELL 38 "Squarin' Up": Now come all you men who have squared up your bills, / With not enough left to buy Injun Root pills; / If you must have enough to keep body and soul / The only chance left is to go on the 'dole.' 1966 PHILBROOK 63 'Squaring off' marks the climax of the fishery season. At this time all accounts between merchant and crew are settled. M 69-13 In the [fall] when they were squaring up with the merchants, it seems that they never had any money to the good. 1969 MENSINKAI 5 This may end up with the 'squaring up' of accounts at the end of the season, after which cash transactions may be resorted to.
2 Comb squaring-up day, ~ time: end of fishing season when a man's account with merchant is balanced to determine amount owed to one or the other; FALL OF THE YEAR.
1940 SCAMMELL 37 "Squarin' Up": 'Tis squarin' up time inside the big shop, / The clerks are kept busy and right on the hop; / The men are all anxious to see what they've done, / For they all want a bottle of Hudson Bay rum. 1966 HORWOOD 16 He might not be able to supply for the fishery, come April, since he might not be able to get the stocks of food and gear that would be needed to carry the fishermen on credit until square-up time in the fall. 1967 Bk of Nfld iv, 235 In the autumn the fish had to be shipped, gardens taken up, wood brought down from the bay and at 'squarin-up time' groceries procured to last till spring. M 71-40 October 1 st—Squaring Up Day—the men came 'out of collar.' On this day the fishermen settled with the merchant and the sharemen of the fishing crews were free to go about their own work. The fishing voyage had ended. 1977 Union Forum June, p. 12 It was a tremendous improvement to fishermen to know what the price would be in the spring, rather than have to wait till the squaring-up time as had been the case in the past.
