Navvy Gravvy
unlike itsy bitsy and teeny weeny, navvy gravvy doesn’t refer to just a small size but to a small amount. a navvy gravy is a very small amount, a little tiny bit, a very fine shaving. in common use within the royal dockyards where very small adjustments have to be made, by shipwrights and shipfitters, to customise components in order to get them to fit correctly. thought to date from around the mid-nineteenth century when many tasks in shipbuilding were still carried out by ‘eye’, although the origins or the words themselves are not entirely clear, it is still in use today where non-standard sized items have to be adjusted to fit.
as an ill-stration; if a hole is drilled in a piece of metal to take a bolt, the hole is the correct size but the bolt doesn’t fit. the drill is then run through the hole again and the bolt fits. careful examination may reveal a few grains of metal dust or the tiniest finest curl of swarf removed by the drill, that tiny amount is a navvy gravvy.
“if we just take a navvy gravvy off that leading edge, it’ll fit perfect.”
Read Also:
- Nelson Mondialu
most popular gipsy from romania friend with sasha soup , the man whose music saves people from cancer nelson mondialu be like: apida matii tie tataaaaaaaa aka aka pace tataaaaa
- Nigga Bug
any black bug unidentified flying black bun-gg-bug n-gg- bug
- nunnie
a beautiful, s-xy, intelligent woman, whose hot headed and has many talents. she’s amazing in bed and a total life changer. she’s very independent, hard working, loyal, and curious. she’s a woman not only with cl-ss, but tries at her best to be at the top of her cl-ss. she also has an amazing body. […]
- obscure reference
an obscure or unclear reference, which could be considered random for the circ-mstance. i mentioned flat stanley in a computer conversation, that be an obscure reference.
- oily koala
a female grease monkey one of my cousins wanted to be an oily koala but i tried discouraging her.