socket-deep

Updated: June 27, 2025

I have heard Captain Scoresby say, that, when a whale is struck, it is an object of importance to drive the weapon socket-deep into the blubber, or outer rind, of the floating monster; but in the case of the porpoise the true point of skill appears to lie in the aim alone: for the mere weight of the instrument, with its loaded staff, is sufficient to lodge the barbs in the body of the fish, and in many cases to carry it right through to the other side.

Basil Hall - The Lieutenant and Commander : Being Autobigraphical Sketches of His Own Career, from Fragments of Voyages and Travels