Davy Jones's locker
1
9.9
- idiom
- /ˈdeɪvi ˈdʒoʊnzɪz ˈlɑːkər/
- Informal
:
el fondo del mar
- If you don't, I'll see you all to Davy Jones's locker!
Examples
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After the storm, we feared that the missing crew members had gone to Davy Jones's locker.
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Welcome to Davy Jones' locker.
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-Davy Jones' locker, I figured.
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That leads to Davy Jones's locker, sir.
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Davy Jones' locker.
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Many sailors believe that when they die at sea, they end up in Davy Jones's locker.
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Legends say that treasures lost in shipwrecks lie at the bottom of Davy Jones's locker.
Synonyms
27
2.9
The bottom of the sea or ocean with plains, ridges, and trenches
14
2.4
The ground at the bottom of the sea where sand and rocks lie
13
2.8
The ground under the sea or ocean
3
3.7
The lowest part of the sea where sand and mud rest
2
9.9
A deep place under the sea thought to be where drowned sailors go
2
2.5
The floor of the sea where sand, rocks, and animals live
Surface Forms
Morphology
Davy + Jones's + locker
The phrase is an idiomatic nautical proverb referring to the sea's bottom as a final resting place; this meaning cannot be derived from the literal constituents — a proper name 'Davy Jones' plus 'locker' (a storage compartment) would suggest personal storage, not the ocean. Understanding requires cultural/folklore knowledge of the name Davy Jones and maritime usage, so a B1 learner who only knows the component words would not predict the idiomatic referent.
Etymology
Davy Jones's locker may come from old sailors' stories about a sea spirit called Davy Jones who kept drowned sailors in his locker like a chest at the bottom of the ocean. That's why the phrase now means the 'bottom of the sea' or the place where lost ships and sailors rest.