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What is the origin of " Davy Jones's locker"?
(Jamsula Kamal Reddy, Ranga Reddy District)
This is an expression that is commonly used by sailors. When you say that someone has gone to Davy Jones's locker what you are implying is that the individual drowned at sea; he is at the bottom of the ocean. The idiom can be used with objects as well. Here are a few examples.
*The pirate ended up in Davy Jones's locker.
*According to this newspaper report, the treasure is still in Davy Jones's locker.
*He has gone to Davy Jones's locker.
Although the idiom has been part of the English language for well over two centuries, no one is really sure about its origin. Some scholars speculate that Davy Jones or David Jones, was a fearsome pirate. One of the things that he did with his captured prisoners was to make them walk the plank. In other words, he threw them overboard while they were in the middle of the ocean. Result? The prisoners invariably drowned. Another theory is that David Jones was the owner of a pub who often drugged his unsuspecting patrons and sold them off as slaves to ship owners.
The theory that most people are comfortable with is the following: Jones is actually from Jonah, you know the character in the Bible who was swallowed by a whale; and Davy is a corruption of the West Indian word "duppy" meaning "ghost or devil". So Davy Jones is actually the spirit of the sea, the sailor's devil!
S. UPENDRAN
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