In days of yore (and as immortalized in O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series) the bosun and his mates would come through and wake the sleeping watch. "Out or down! H

In days of yore (and as immortalized in O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series) the bosun and his mates would come through and wake the sleeping watch. "Out or down! Here I come, with a sharp knife and a clear conscience!" The meaning was that if you didn't get out of your hammock it would be cut down with you in it. An abrupt and rude awakening and potentially leaving you with a chore to fix your hammock before you could sleep again.