thar she blows
Cetacean spotted ahead
Thar she blows is a whaler's cry announcing a whale has been spotted, the spout of breath visible at the surface.
The phrase survives mainly as a joking exclamation when something large or long-awaited finally appears: Thar she blows! someone might say when a friend's oversized package arrives.
- whaleHuge sea mammal
- white whaleConsuming, elusive pursuit
- sperm whaleGiant toothed marine mammal
- harpoonBarbed spear for whales
- spoutProjecting pouring tube
Moby Dick · Herman Melville · captain · Ahab · blowhole · sea · ocean · lookout · mast · ship's bow · crow's nest · leviathan · hunt · tally ho · call out · sailor · ship · old salt