TIL: Today I Learned...

"No room to swing a cat" means that there is very little space. This phrase is thought to have originated from the punishment of flogging, which was done on board ships. The "cat", or cat 'o nine tails, referred to a whip made of nine knotted ropes and was swung over the heads of sailors to discipline them. Below the deck of a cramped ship, there would be no room to swing the cat, hence the phrase.

To "turn a blind eye" means to ignore or pretend not to see something. This phrase comes from the story of British Admiral Horatio Nelson during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, where he reportedly pretended not to see a flagship's signal to retreat by putting his glass eye to his telescope.

Apropos of nothing, Thomas Truxtun, the Captain of the frigate Constellation hated convoy escort duty because merchant vessels tended to be much looser than the tight ship Truxtun ran abord the Constellation. While on escort duty in the Caribbean one ship continued to fall out of line. Truxtun signaled to her "If you do not learn to better handle your Ship and Follow our Motions, I shall fire into you"