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It's listed as a 19th century proverb in The Everyman Dictionary of Quotations, Smudge, so presumably it was around for some time prior to that. It's always hard to track down the origin of proverbs, so - sadly - I haven't come up with a specific source.
There are two ways of looking at its significance...firstly - the positive approach - that things could be worse, so look on the bright side and secondly - the negative approach - such terrible things as we are experiencing here would be a lot worse if they happened on a ship.
I guess it is just a reference to the sea as a noted source of disasters and is but one of a multitude of such maritime sayings in English.
There are two ways of looking at its significance...firstly - the positive approach - that things could be worse, so look on the bright side and secondly - the negative approach - such terrible things as we are experiencing here would be a lot worse if they happened on a ship.
I guess it is just a reference to the sea as a noted source of disasters and is but one of a multitude of such maritime sayings in English.
What can I say, GF? Oddly enough, it's a dictionary of quotations...just one of the multitude of reference works littering my bookshelves. Accordingly, when someone asks a phrase question, I often pick it up. If the phrase in question is listed as a proverb therein, rather than just a phrase, I take the view that I am unlikely to find an original source. However, I do also have a glance at various proverb websites.
(The problem with Brewer's - as I never tire of pointing out - is that it has too much 'fable' and not enough 'phrase'!)
(The problem with Brewer's - as I never tire of pointing out - is that it has too much 'fable' and not enough 'phrase'!)
Does the following ring a bell, Smudge?
The earliest-recorded written use of one variant of the phrase was in an 1820s publication about boxing which included the words: "...the old saying 'worse accidents happen at sea'." In one of my books about quotations/sayings, it is listed as "a 19th century proverb", so it certainly goes back a century or two.
The actual phrase: "worse things happen at sea" did not appear as such until the publication of Neville Shute's 'No Highway' in the 1940s.
I ask the opening question above because I was looking back over the records I keep of questions I've answered and came across that one dated August 2004. Was that my answer to you back then?
The earliest-recorded written use of one variant of the phrase was in an 1820s publication about boxing which included the words: "...the old saying 'worse accidents happen at sea'." In one of my books about quotations/sayings, it is listed as "a 19th century proverb", so it certainly goes back a century or two.
The actual phrase: "worse things happen at sea" did not appear as such until the publication of Neville Shute's 'No Highway' in the 1940s.
I ask the opening question above because I was looking back over the records I keep of questions I've answered and came across that one dated August 2004. Was that my answer to you back then?
Hi Quizzy - just picking up more of my e-mails & found yours!
Just looked back & believe this is the question you answered way back in 2004, which has more or less the same wording. It wasn't my question, but thank you for getting back to me with the info today.
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