difficulty.--_Hobbles_, irons or fetters.

HOBBLER. A coast-man of Kent, a bit of a smuggler, and an unlicensed
pilot, ever ready for a job in either of these occupations. Also, a man
on land employed in towing a vessel by a rope. Also, a sentinel who kept
watch at a beacon.

HOBITS. Small mortars of 6 or 8 inches bore mounted on gun-carriages; in
use before the howitzer.

HOBRIN. A northern designation of the blue shark, _Squalus glaucus_.

HOC. The picked dog-fish, _Squalus acanthias_.

HOCK-SAW. A fermented drink along the coasts of China, partaking more of
the nature of beer than of spirit, and therefore less injurious than
_sam-tsin_.

HOD. A hole under a bank or rock, forming a retreat for fish.

HODDY-DODDY. A west-country name for a revolving light.

HODMADODS. The name among early navigators for Hottentots.

HODMANDODS. _See_ DODMAN.

HODOMETRICAL. A method of finding the longitude at sea by dead-reckoning.

HOE. _See_ HOWE.

HOE-MOTHER, OR HOMER. The basking shark, _Squalus maximus_.

HOE-TUSK. _Squalus mustela_, smooth hound-fish of the Shetlanders.

HOG. A kind of rough, flat scrubbing broom, serving to scrape a ship's
bottom under water, particularly in the act of _boot-topping_ (which
see); formed by inclosing a multitude of short twigs of birch, or the
like, between two pieces of plank, which are firmly attached to each
other; the ends of the twigs are then cut off even, so as to form a
brush of considerable extent. To this is fitted a long staff, together
with two ropes, the former of which is used to thrust the hog under the
ship's bottom, and the latter to guide and pull it up again close to the
planks, so as to rub off all the dirt. This work is usually performed in
the ship's boat.

HOG-BOAT. _See_ HECK-BOAT.

HOGGED. A significant word derived from the animal; it implies that the
two ends of a ship's decks droop lower than the midship part,
consequently, that her keel and bottom are so strained as to curve
upwards. The term is therefore in opposition to that of _sagging_.

HOG-IN-ARMOUR. Soubriquet for an iron-clad ship.

HOGO. From the French _haut-gout_, a disagreeable smell, but rather
applied to ill-ventilated berths than to bilge-water.

HOISE. The old word for hoist.

HOIST. The perpendicular height of a sail or flag; in the latter it is
opposed to the fly, which implies its breadth from the staff to the
outer edge: or that part to which the halliards are bent.

HOIST