Editing Jib (section)

==Idiom==
The jib is referenced in the idiom usually spoken as "I like the cut of your jib", generally seen as signifying approval of one's general appearance or respect for their character. The phrase alludes to the maritime practice of identifying far-away ships by noting the "cut" (general shape and configuration) of their sails to determine their status as friend or foe. One such report from the ''[[Naval Chronicle]]'' (1805)—"we perceived by the cut of their sails, then set, that they were French Ships of War"—is often cited as an early inspiration for the idiom.<ref>{{cite journal|editor1-last=Clarke|editor1-first=James Stanier|editor2-last=Jones|editor2-first=Stephen|editor3-last=Jones|editor3-first=John|title=Biographical Memoir of the Late Honourable Captain Richard Walpole|journal=Naval Chronicle|date=1805|volume=14|page=97|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xnAMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PP125|access-date=6 May 2018|publisher=J. Gold}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title='Three Sheets to the Wind' & 'Cut of Your Jib'|url=http://disappearingidioms.com/three-sheets-to-the-wind-cut-of-your-jib/ |publisher=Disappearing Idioms|access-date=6 May 2018|date=August 2, 2013}}</ref>

[[Walter Scott|Sir Walter Scott]] used the expression to denote approval in the 1824 novel ''[[St. Ronan's Well]]'': "If she disliked what the sailor calls the ''cut of their jib''{{-"}}.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Martin|first1=Gary|title=Cut of your jib|url=https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/cut-of-your-jib.html|website=The Phrase Finder|access-date=6 May 2018}}</ref> [[John Russell Bartlett]] later defined the idiom in his 1848 ''Dictionary of Americanisms'' as "The form of his profile, the cast of his countenance". This usage alludes to a frequent variation of meaning which describes approval, specifically, of the shape of one's [[nose]], which roughly approximates the frontal position and triangular shape of the jib sail on a boat.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Robson|first1=Martin|title=Not Enough Room to Swing a Cat: Naval slang and its everyday usage|date=2012|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=9781844861965|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UEGkDAAAQBAJ|access-date=6 May 2018|chapter=Cut of his jib}}</ref>