jolly boat
Americannoun
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a light boat carried at the stern of a sailing vessel.
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a small pleasure sailboat for use in sheltered waters.
noun
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a small boat used as a utility tender for a vessel
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a small sailing boat used for pleasure
Etymology
Origin of jolly boat
1720–30; jolly < Danish jolle yawl 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
We saw the huge form of the lion contending with the 184 waves; attracted by the voices of men he was making every effort to reach the jolly boat.
From Hair Breadth Escapes Perilous incidents in the lives of sailors and travelers in Japan, Cuba, East Indies, etc., etc. by T. S. (Timothy Shay) Arthur
You had better take the jolly boat, and pick out twenty active fellows.
From Held Fast For England A Tale of the Siege of Gibraltar (1779-83) by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty
The seaman dodged, and the cider mug spun into the planks of a jolly boat.
From Famous Privateersmen and Adventurers of the Sea Their rovings, cruises, escapades, and fierce battling upon the ocean for patriotism and for treasure by Charles Haven Ladd Johnston
The quarter boat was missing and her jolly boat was gone.
From The Pilots of Pomona by Robert Leighton
They escaped to the jolly boat, saving nothing but their lives.
From The Life of Francis Marion by William Gilmore Simms
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
