stern sheets

plural noun

, Nautical.

the after part of an open boat, occupied by the person in command or by passengers.

stern sheets

First recorded in 1475–85

The captain's white gig having been manned, he seated himself in the stern sheets, a large flag trailing in the water behind him.

The coxswain could scarce suppress a grin as the instructor stepped into the stern sheets.

His clothes were wet and the stern-sheets were covered with spray.

The captain himself is in the stern-sheets, tiller-lines in hand.

It was she, my wife Bathsheba, laid there by the stern-sheets on a spare-sail, with a bundle of oilskins to cushion her.

April 25, 2024firkin

[fur-kin ]

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