Like that joke dougiebarder!
As JD didn't have a go at FV623s little quiz this time:
'over a barrel' I've heard several explanations for this one. When sailors were being tried for an offence, the Officer in charge would use a barrel for a desk. Therefore when you are said to be 'over a barrel' you are in a tight spot.
'the devil to pay'. Paying a seam is the action of filling the gap between deck planks with a mixture of oakum and tar; and the widest seam is the one where the deck joins the curved side of the ship. This was known as 'the devil'. The full expression is 'there'll be the devil to pay and no pitch hot', in otherwords ' up sh*t creek without a paddle'.
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