cappabar

English edit

Alternative forms edit

capperbar, capabarre, capperbar, cap a bar, cape bar^[1]

Etymology edit

Uncertain. First attested 1818 as cap a bar.^[2] Dated or obsolete by the early 20th century.

Noun edit

cappabar (plural not attested)

(nautical, obsolete) a misappropriation of government property; embezzlement or fraud carried out in the management of a ship.
- Burton, Alfred (1818) The Adventures of Johnny Newcome in the Navy, London: Methuen and Co., page 209
  If e'er the Fortune of the war
  Gave him a Prize, he'd cap a bar
  Like blazes--but stand clear! that elf
  Who dared to steal besides himself.
- Patrick O'Brian, *The Mauritius Command.*
  disposing of His Majesty's property was an immemorial practice among His Majesty's servants [...] and in the Navy it went by the name of cappabar. —

References edit

^ King, Dean, Hattendorf, John B. (2012) A Sea of Words: A lexicon and Companion to the Complete Seafaring Tales of Patrick O'Brian
^ Partridge, Eric (1961) A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, volume 1, New York: The Macmillan Company, pages 125, 1028

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