Posted by John Nichols on August 17, 2005 at 19:27:19 from 165.91.196.120 user Mcneacail.
In Reply to: 12:00 am, pm, noon, midnight - was Telling TIME with Bells posted by Brad Henry on August 17, 2005 at 01:44:31:
This is a great little program that sits on your computer and sounds ships bells at the correct time. It has a neat interface. I have been using it for about 2 weeks and been meaning to mention it.
I like the ding every 30 minutes, breaks up the day. Ed you will love this program. It also has an interface that lists the watches. I gather one set of bells are never rung as it the time of the mutiny at Nore(?)
Dog-watch OED, does not list an original idea behind the name.
Naut.
[Cf. DOG-SLEEP.]
The name given to the two short watches (of two hours each instead of four): see quot. 1840.
1700 1840
1836
1700 S. L. tr. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 7 Count Maurice's Quarter hath the second Watch, and is also called the Dog-watch. 1836 E. HOWARD R. Reefer xxxii, About two bells in the first dog-watch the first-lieutenant decided upon furling the main-sail. 1840 R. H. DANA Bef. Mast iii. 5 The watch from four to eight p.m., is divided into two half, or dog-watches, one from four to six, and the other from six to eight. By this means they divide the twenty-four hours into seven watches instead of six, and thus shift the hours every night.
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ADDITIONS SERIES 1993
dog-watch, n.
Restrict Naut. to sense in Dict. and add: 2. transf. A night shift, esp. in a newspaper office; any late or early period of duty; hence, the staff employed on this. slang (chiefly U.S.).
1983
1942
1939
1935
1901
1901 F. U. ADAMS Kidnapped Millionaire x. 135 The building shakes with the rumble of the presses; the ‘dog watch’, detailed to duty in the event of news demanding an extra, opens its game of poker. 1935 A. J. POLLOCK Underworld Speaks 32/1 Dog watch, employees of gambling house who begin work at midnight. 1939 C. BELTON Outside Law in N.Z. xv. 89, I congratulated myself I had not forgotten the morning ‘dog watch’ as we called it. This duty occurred about once in ten days. 1942 BERREY & VAN DEN BARK Amer. Thes. Slang §521/1 Dogwatch, lobster trick, the shift of newspapermen after the regular editions have gone to press. 1983 Truckin' Life Dec. 21/1 Alan and Sue are the hosts and Neville looks after the shop on the dogwatch shift.