Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb idiomatic To
prepare fortrouble .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From the practice aboard a ship of sealing hatches to prevent water getting below-decks in a storm by using covers secured by strips of material, called battens, firmly attached to the frame of the hatch opening.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word batten down the hatches.
Examples
Sorry, no example sentences found.
reesetee commented on the word batten down the hatches
To prepare for trouble. The securing of property, especially the covering with of property with protective sheeting, is called "battening down," but the phrase also has a nautical origin that's more specific. Sailors prepared for a storm by fastening canvas over the gratings and close-hatches of hatchways. If extremely severe weather was expected (strong winds, particularly heavy rains), the canvas was secured using strips of wood called battens.
December 10, 2007