⚓ Sea grave 👹 Ghost sea captain

Davy Jones

2 9.9

A deep place under the sea thought to be where drowned sailors go

noun
/ˈdeɪvi dʒoʊnz/

Literature

: el fondo del mar

They say that treasures lost at sea are forever hidden in Davy Jones' Locker.

Examples

Many sailors believe that when they die at sea, their souls end up in Davy Jones' Locker.
What is it you seek in Davy Jones' Locker?

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
You intend to attempt a voyage to Davy Jones' Locker.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
That's what awaits at Davy Jones' Locker.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Legends warn that if a ship sinks, the crew may find themselves trapped in Davy Jones' Locker for eternity.

Synonyms

Davy Jones's locker

vsDavy Jones

Informal

1 9.9

The bottom of the sea where sailors and things lost at sea rest

is a mythical burial place rather than a literal sea bottom

Surface Forms

Davy Jones singular

Davy Joneses plural

Morphology

Davy + Jones

This is a proper name and cultural reference: the meaning (a mythical/monstrous sea captain associated with the ghost ship) cannot be derived from the constituent names 'Davy' and 'Jones', which carry no descriptive semantics for learners. Understanding this expression requires specific cultural or literary knowledge rather than knowledge of the parts, so it would be opaque to a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words.

Etymology

Davy Jones comes from old sailors' stories about a dark place under the sea. One popular story says sailors imagined a man who kept a 'locker' at the bottom where drowned sailors and lost ships were kept, so Davy Jones came to mean the sea's 'burial place'.