'F**K' - For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. In Nelson's day, sailors ashore were not allowed to consort with the 'ladies of the night'. If they were caught, they were hauled before the Captain and punished. An entry was made in the punishment book, but the full entry was abbreviated - the initials have now become a word meaning.....
'Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey' - again in the days of sail, the brass monkey was a brass plate set into the wooden deck on which were piled the cannon balls. This prevented damage to the deck planking. Metal to metal contact was also more stable when wet - wood tends to be slippy, in which case the cannon balls would be sliding all over the place. However, when the temp dropped low enough to form ice, the balls did indeed slip of the brass monkey.....
(Edited for punctuation...)
[ 15 September 2001: Message edited by: FJJP ]