Lecture: The nautical roots of everyday sayings

Author Cynthia Barrett will give a talk on the maritime origins of everyday words and phrases at Southold Historical Museum’s Maple Lane Campus. The presentation draws from her book, “Three Sheets to the Wind: The Nautical Origins of Everyday Expressions,” and looks at how terms such as “filibusters” and “skyscrapers” trace back to life at sea, along with the naval history behind the phrase “turning a blind eye,” associated with Adm. Horatio Nelson.

Barrett will also discuss her family’s nautical connections, including a father who served as a World War II naval officer and a great-grandfather who was a whaler from Cold Spring Harbor, and how those stories informed her research.

Admission is free. RSVP is requested.