No one has ever said to me, “I like the cut of your jib.”
I must not have a very good jib, I suppose. I guess the day God was handing out jibs, I must have been last in line. Not that I mind. I mean, if I’m going to be short on something, it may as well be my jib.
Where exactly is my jib?
Well. It isn’t on my face, like I thought it might be.
“The cut of your jib” refers to our appearance, manner, or overall character. It is the impression we give other people.
It is an old nautical expression, and it comes from sailing.
A jib is a triangular sail at the front of a ship. Experienced sailors could often identify a ship’s nationality or purpose from the shape and arrangement of its jib long before the vessel came close. In other words, they could judge the ship by the “cut” of its jib. (The shape of that sail.)
Over time, the phrase became a metaphor for judging people. Apparently, the expression dates back to the 18th century and is still occasionally used today. But I sure do not hear it much anymore.
As far as I know, no one has ever said it to me.
Maybe it’s because I don’t sail.
Or maybe that old phrase is on the way out.
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“The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.” — John Wooden
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“Character is much easier kept than recovered.” — Thomas Paine
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“The way we see people is the way we treat them, and the way we treat them is what they become.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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