Davy Jones's locker
A nautical euphemism for the ocean's depths and drowned sailors.
Last updated
The phrase "Davy Jones's locker" refers to the bottom of the sea, a place where drowned sailors end up.[1] Its earliest known use in print is from 1726 in a work attributed to Daniel Defoe.[2][3] The origin of the term Davy Jones himself remains unclear, with several conjectural explanations.[4][1]
Life and work
The first clear description of Davy Jones appears in Tobias Smollett's 1751 novel The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle.[5][1] Smollett's account describes Davy Jones as a fiend who presides over evil spirits of the deep and appears before disasters.[3][1] A 1785 dictionary defined "David Jones's locker" simply as "the sea"[3] By 1800, the phrase appeared in songs like "Poor Jack" and "Jolly Jack of Dover"[3]
A musical pantomime titled Davy Jones's Locker, Or Black ey'd Susan was performed at London's Sans Pareil theatre in 1812.[6] Tom Lehrer's 1953 album Songs by Tom Lehrer included a stanza sending a brother "off to Davey Jones"[7][8] The 1959 Broadway musical Davy Jones' Locker featured Bil Baird's marionettes at the Morosco Theatre.[9] In the 21st century, the phrase was referenced in SpongeBob SquarePants as a literal gym locker.[10][11]
What the cited sources add
Michael Quinion's 1999 article notes a theory that a real David Jones ran a London pub with a press-gang sideline.[1] Quinion also mentions a theory that Davy Jones was a fearsome pirate who made captives walk the plank.[1] The Yahoo News report states that a phone falling into the North Sea was described as being in "Davy Jones' locker".[12]
References
- Michael Quinion, "World Wide Words", 1999. facts only, no text reused. worldwidewords.org
- Wikipedia, "Davy Jones's locker" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Green, "Davy Jones's locker, n. — Green's Dictionary of Slang", greensdictofslang.com (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Green, "Davy Jones's locker, n. — Green's Dictionary of Slang", greensdictofslang.com. facts only, no text reused. greensdictofslang.com
- Wikipedia, "Davy Jones's locker" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Farmer, "A Dictionary of slang and Colloquial English", 1927, p. 128–129; Michael Quinion, "World Wide Words", 1999 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Davy Jones's locker" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Brewer, "Davy Jones's Locker.", Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 1898-01-01 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Davy Jones's locker" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Morning Chronicle - Wednesday 30 December 1812 - https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000082/18121230/005/0003 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Davy Jones's locker" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Irish Ballad / Rickety Tickety Tin [Tom Lehrer]", Mainly Norfolk: English Folk and Other Good Music (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "The Irish Ballad / Rickety Tickety Tin [Tom Lehrer]", Mainly Norfolk: English Folk and Other Good Music. facts only, no text reused. mainlynorfolk.info
- Wikipedia, "Davy Jones's locker" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Davy Jones' Locker @ Morosco Theatre" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Davy Jones's locker" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Brian Doyle-Murray: Flying Dutchman", IMDB (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Davy Jones's locker" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Press, "Davy Jones: Four zany moments, from 'Brady Bunch' to 'SpongeBob'", Los Angeles Times, 29 February 2012 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Rebekah Vardy agent's phone is 'in Davy Jones' locker', court hears", Yahoo News, 12 May 2022. facts only, no text reused. uk.news.yahoo.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Davy Jones's locker (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Supernatural beings identified with Christian saints
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Davy Jones's locker (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced