The flotsam and jetsam query from the thread about 'what's the difference between' is easy: When a sailing ship was being pursued by another with hostile intentions, stuff (sometimes, even cannon!) would be thrown overboard in an attempt to gain speed and distance from the pursuer/attacker. The stuff thrown overboard is 'jetsam.' If that was not successful, and the hostile ship caught up and inflicted enough damage to sink the ship, the stuff that rose back up to the surface was the 'flotsam.' Thus, jetsam is the stuff that is thrown overboard (i.e., jettisoned( and flotsam is the stuff that floats back up to the surface.

Let's hear it for Patrick O'Brien!!

Tom D.