splice the mainbrace

verb

To have an alcoholic drink.

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Meanings

verbsplice the mainbrace (third-person singular simple present splices the mainbrace, present participle splicing the mainbrace, simple past and past participle spliced the mainbrace)

present singular third person splices the mainbrace · participle present splicing the mainbrace · participle past spliced the mainbrace · past spliced the mainbrace

  1. idiomaticnauticalTo have an alcoholic drink.

    [T]he skipper invited us to ‘splice the main brace’; which, in the language of the landlubber, means to have a spot of rum.

    1933, Frank Clune, Try Anything Once, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 89

Origin

From splice + mainbrace. Splicing the mainbrace, a heavy piece of running rigging that supported the main yard, was a skilful and arduous task, so that the men responsible would be rewarded with an extra tot of rum. Nowadays, a ceremonial order to pour a drink for a ship's company.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

splice the mainbrace. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/splice%20the%20mainbrace

MLA

“splice the mainbrace.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/splice%20the%20mainbrace. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “splice the mainbrace,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/splice%20the%20mainbrace.

Source: splice the mainbrace on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.