Phrase Finder

Stepped the mast

Posted by Victoria S Dennis September 15, 2005In reply to Stepped the mast posted by Lisa on September 15, 2005

My daughter needs to know the meaning of the phrase "stepped the mast". She's reading "The Old Man and the Sea". Thank you!

To "step" a mast means to place it upright in its "step", which is the shaped block fixed to the keel into which it fits. To take the mast down again, you "unstep" it. (VSD)