Maritime old farts, when they are 'Wattling', always ask for a short.

Wattling (v) a practice indulged in by retired seamen in dockyard towns in the SW of England. Prominently wearing Blazer and cap of clear nautical origin, they entertain grockles ( holiday makers) in dockside pubs, with rather imaginative accounts of their seafaring days, and tales of the docks in the good old days. When the male grockle asks his partner what she would like to drink, he adds, indicating the old salt, What'll he have ( the wattle) to which the answer is a rum or whisky. Successful wattlers can drink for free all summer.