before the mast

Definition

Having living quarters in the forecastle of a vessel

Example Sentences

• "Before making lieutenant, he sailed before the mast for five years"
• "[...] but under certain circumstances (night watches on a whaling ground) the command of the ship’s deck is also his; therefore the grand political maxim of the sea demands, that he should nominally live apart from the men before the mast, and be in some way distinguished as their professional superior; [...]"