Nantucket sleighride
Harpoon boat drag
A Nantucket sleighride is the wild ride that occurs when a harpooned whale drags the whaleboat behind it as it tries to escape.
Named for the Massachusetts whaling port, the term evokes the dangerous thrill of being towed at high speed across the ocean by a wounded whale: The harpoon struck and we were off on a Nantucket sleighride.
The phrase sometimes appears figuratively for any situation where you're pulled along by forces beyond your control.
- blubberMarine mammal fat
- harpoonBarbed spear for whales
- sperm whaleGiant toothed marine mammal
- whalingHunting large sea mammals
- towPull something behind
harpoon line · hunt · perilous · whaleboats · open boat · bravery · Moby-Dick · survival · endurance · exhaustion · drag · right whale · white whale · whale hunt · exhilaration · Ahab · New Bedford · Cape Cod
Nantucket sleighridepleasure cruise
Recreational sea voyage
moored · Sunday drive · harbor cruise · anchored · becalmed
Nantucket sleighridedead calm
Complete absence of wind
doldrums · becalmed · drifting · still water · stationary